I Can't Believe We're Doing This
by Tori of Lorien
Summary: Title says it all. Co-authored by Torilei and HaloFin17. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**I Can't Believe We're Doing This**

**Summary: **Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei **and** HaloFin17.** Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Authors' Note:** Yes, it's true. The unthinkable has occurred, and **Tori** and **Halo** have been "sucked into" National Treasure, which means that these new "characters" we're introducing really are **us**. They definitely aren't Mary Sues, as they aren't Oxford-educated or drop-dead gorgeous, and they don't have any dark secrets and/or traumatic pasts. I'm honestly even reluctant to call them OC's because they aren't original characters that we made up on our own. They're just us. They can only say or do what we truly would say or do. Our standard while writing this whole fic has been to ask ourselves, "Ok, is this something I would really say/do?" And so we go from there, and hopefully the rest of you will get some good laughs out of this along the way, as well. And while this may not be a serious fic for us, like all our others, it's still written to the very best of our ability. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

_Saturday, August 9, 2008_

The sun was just beginning to set over a beautiful summer day in southern Wisconsin as two good friends returned to the younger's home after a long day of fun and laughter spent together. The both headed to the refrigerator for a bottle of root beer, their shared favorite, and plopped down next to each other on the couch.

While they could not see much of a resemblance themselves, the two young women had often been told that they looked very much alike. They were both brunettes, although the elder's hair was a bit shorter, were approximately the same height with the same slender build, wore glasses, and had contagious smiles. That was where the comparison ended, as far as they were concerned, but they still delighted in calling each other "my long-lost twin," despite an age difference of over three years.

"So," Tori breathed, "what do you want to do now?"

Haley glanced at her watch. "I don't know. But it's only nine o'clock, so we've still got a couple hours before I need to head back to Chicago. You got any ideas?"

Tori thought on that a moment, then suggested, "Well, we could always watch a movie."

Haley grinned. "How about _National Treasure_, since we've both been writing fanfics for it so much lately?"

"I might've guessed you'd pick that," her friend laughed while going to retrieve the DVD. "Which one do you want – the first or second?"

"The first one, please!" Haley called back. "I still haven't quite gotten over the fact that they didn't bring Ian back in the second one."

Tori shook her head as she returned with what was surely one of her own favorite movies. "I don't mind which one. Riley's great in both of them! But I do agree Ian was a better bad guy than Mitch." She stuck the DVD in the player and returned to the couch with Haley. "I'm surprised you don't have your own copy of this yet, Halo."

Haley chuckled. "For as much as we talk about it, I am, too. But I'm pretty sure I'll be getting it for my birthday tomorrow – I'll have to let you know for sure. And thanks again, Tori-kins, for letting me come up here for the day."

"Of course! My mom and I are always happy to have you here, and besides, I wanted to celebrate your birthday, even if it is a day early. Do you have any big plans for tomorrow? Turning twenty-one is pretty special."

"No, nothing too big so far that I know of," Haley replied with a shrug. "Right now, I'm thinking I might just ask my family to take me out for dinner and buy me drink. What else am I supposed to do when my twenty-first birthday is on a Sunday?"

Tori laughed. "I don't know, but I'm sure you'll figure out something and have lots of fun no matter what it is."

"I just can't believe how fast everything goes," Haley elaborated. "I mean, I'm turning twenty-one tomorrow! And you – you'll be starting your first day as a high school senior in just a couple weeks! How does this all happen so fast?"

"I don't know, but it's too late to stop it now. Oh here," Tori said suddenly, turning her attention back to the DVD menu, "there was something else in the special features I wanted to show you while you were here."

"Cool! Is it more of Riley's clue-solving game? That was fun last time."

"No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it was something else." She continued to flip through the Special Features menu, frowning when she still didn't find what she sought.

"Hey, what's that?" Haley abruptly asked.

"What's what?"

"That little symbol down there in the bottom right-hand corner?"

"I don't know. That's weird – I've never seen it before."

Haley leaned forward excitedly. "Let's try it! Can you select it?"

"Yeah, here we go." Tori pushed the button to select the mysterious symbol, and suddenly…

Everything was white. And cold. Very cold.

"Tori?" Haley called out, too shocked to think about anything else. "Tori, please tell me you're still here."

Tori tapped her friend on the shoulder. "Yeah, I'm here."

Haley whirled around, surprised but ecstatic, and hugged her tight. "Oh, thank goodness! But what happened?"

The younger girl shook her head and looked around them, rubbing her bare arms as she felt them already going numb. "I have no idea. All I know is that one second I was holding the remote, and then the next, it was gone. But where in the world are we? This place looks kinda familiar."

"It looks like the Arctic." That sank in, and the girls froze, this time not from the cold.

"Oh no, Halo – you don't think…"

"No," Haley stated firmly, catching her friend's drift. "No. That thing with girls getting sucked through the TV and into the movies only happens in those lame OC romance fics, and I'm telling you, it's NOT possible!"

"Then why are there a bunch of guys digging up an old ship over there?" Tori pointed, and Haley turned, her jaw dropping.

"Oh my gosh, this is really happening. Tori, we're in the movie!"

"I know, I can't believe it! And look – I think I see Riley. This is so exciting!"

"And there," Haley pointed, "it's Sean Bean, I mean Ian, in the white coat! Oh, if only Olive could see me now…"

"Haley?"

"…she'll be wild with envy when I tell her about this."

"Haley!"

"What?" Haley finally turned serious again, seeing that her younger friend had done the same.

"Haley," Tori began earnestly, "before they see us, we need to promise each other that no matter what happens, we will not let them know that we know this is all just a movie, and that we know what happens in the end."

Haley nodded her complete agreement. "You're right. Otherwise they could extract information from us and ruin the whole plot."

"Exactly. So you and I will just have to go with the flow and pretend like we have no idea what's going on."

"Deal," Haley concluded. "Pinky swear?"

Tori nodded, and the two girls locked their frozen pinky fingers together in the binding pact.

"Well, you know, it could be worse," Haley remarked, casting a sidelong glance at her friend. "At least we aren't stuck in _Mission: Impossible_."

Tori's eyes narrowed dangerously, but just as she opened her mouth to utter a scathing retort, she was ever-so-rudely cut off.

"Who the devil are you?"

As one, the girls snapped their heads around to behold Shaw, Ian, and Ben Gates striding toward them. It must have been Shaw or Ian who had spoken first.

"Well, I think they found us," Tori whispered as the men drew nearer.

Ian was eyeing them suspiciously, and Ben looked simply dumfounded. "How did you get here?" he asked, bewildered. "And why are you dressed for summer?"

Haley spoke first. "You know, that's a darn fine question. We were just trying to figure it out ourselves."

Ian stared at them blankly. "You mean to say that you've no idea where you came from, or how you got here?"

"Nope," Tori answered both succinctly and truthfully. "We seriously have _no_ clue how we get here, and believe me, we'd like to know."

"So, you've got amnesia, then?" Shaw proposed.

Haley glanced briefly over at her companion, then replied, "That's a definite possibility. Hey, who knows? Maybe we were part of some top-secret science experiment for the government, and when the whole thing went bad, they wiped our brains and dumped us off here?"

Tori bit back a giggle, knowing that Haley was just trying to think of anything that might explain their presence. But also understanding that something more realistic was now called for, she stepped back into the conversation. "Or maybe our sightseeing plane crash landed, during which we hit our heads and then wandered over here aimlessly?"

By now, Shaw was gaping at them in dumb shock. Ian groaned and gingerly rubbed the bridge of his nose with his gloved hands. They really didn't need any more people involved in this matter, but what else was to be done?

Beside him, Ben sighed and finally voiced the inevitable. "Well, I suppose we can't just leave you two young ladies out here to freeze to death, even if it's clear you do have some serious mental issues. Come back over by us."

"Thank you!" both girls chorused, not caring in the least that he had just blatantly questioned their sanity. After all, could they really blame him?

"I'm Ben Gates, by the way" he said, introducing himself. "That's Ian Howe, and Shaw."

"Nice to meet you guys! I'm Haley, and this is my friend, Tori."

"A pleasure," Ian drawled, nodding somewhat in their general direction.

"Um," Tori called after Ben's back, "do you guys have any extra cold-weather gear? I think I speak for both of us when I say my toes about to freeze and fall off."

"Yeah, we've got extra stuff," the lead treasure hunter answered, "but it'll probably be too big for you."

"That's okay, we'll take it!" Haley piped up.

Ben chuckled. "Well in that case, go see Riley over there, and he'll set you up with whatever we've got."

At the mention of Riley's name, a shy smile crept onto Tori's face – a smile which quickly turned into a fierce blush when Haley playfully elbowed her in the ribs and winked at her when she looked back.

"Good morning, ladies. I'm Riley Poole, and welcome to the Arctic Circle."

* * *

Just a short time later, the girls were arrayed in a variety of men's cold-weather clothing – knit hats that came down almost over their eyes, fur-lined coats that were far too long, and heavily-insulated boots that were far too big. But at least they were warm now.

Thankfully, the guys were mostly done with their excavating when the girls arrived, so it was only a few more hours until Ben called out, "Ok, this is it! Let's go!"

"Yeah," Powell shouted in response, "bring us back some treasure!"

"Treasure?" Haley echoed, maintaining the appearance of ignorance. "You guys are seriously up here looking for buried treasure? I always thought you were supposed to go to deserted islands in the Caribbean for stuff like that."

"Not us," Ben retorted, laughing.

"Can we come in with you?" Tori asked eagerly.

Ben sighed. "I suppose. Why not? Just don't get in the way."

"Oh, don't worry," Haley assured him, exchanging meaningful looks with Tori. "We won't interfere."

But as they started making their way down into the ship, Haley leaned over toward her friend and whispered, "Tori, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you do remember what happens in this part, right?"

"Of course I do, and we both know it turns out fine. Now come on, and don't worry about it." She gave her companion a friendly pat on the shoulder as they followed Ben and the others deeper into the ship's interior. Both girls later agreed that it was actually much creepier than the movie had made it look, with the ghost-like frost that coated everything and the eerie stillness that hung heavy in the air.

Riley moved off to the side to explore something or other, but he soon leapt back in a panic when he moved aside one of the swinging hammocks to reveal the dead body of a frozen sailor. And in his frantic hurry to distance himself from the well-preserved corpse, he ended up staggering back right into Tori. The laughing seventeen-year-old was promptly knocked off her feet, and Riley followed straight after so that the two of them collapsed onto the hard floor in a mess of tangled limbs.

"You handled that well," Ben blandly remarked when the two of them had regained their composure. Haley rushed over to help pull Tori to her feet, giving her friend a subtle wink and a wicked smile. Tori flushed, despite the cold, and stuck her tongue out at the older girl. Haley just giggled in reply and moved along.

Ben soon led them to the cargo hold, and inside were lots of barrels filled with (surprise, surprise) gunpowder. Ian was the first one who hadn't already seen the movie to identify the black, powdery substance. Ben Gates looked awfully disappointed for a brief while, until he discovered the barrel being guarded by the ship's now-frozen captain. And so The Pipe was brought forth.

"What is it?" Riley pressed impatiently. "Is it a billion dollar pipe?"

"It's a Meerschaum pipe," Ian informed all of them with a smile. He seemed to truly appreciate the artwork of it all. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, and look at the detail of the scrollwork on the stem."

But the techie was still unsatisfied. "Is it a million dollar pipe?"

"It's another clue. We are one step closer to the treasure, gentlemen." Ben then proceeded to remove said pipe stem, eliciting quite a panicked response from Riley who exclaimed, "Careful, don't break it!"

But Ben paid him little heed and soon had the engraving from the stem displayed on paper for them all to see, the glistening letters written in his own blood. He read the inscription aloud:

"_The legend writ, the stain affected,_

"_The key in Silence undetected._

"_Fifty-five in iron pen,_

"_Mr. Matlack can't offend."_

"It's a riddle," he mused, and Haley had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out, _No, duh!_ But soon Ben was pacing the length of the cargo hold, speaking his thoughts aloud as his scathingly brilliant mind worked to decipher the clue. "Unless, the key in silence could be…"

"Prison," Shaw cut in, sounding as though he'd just had a major breakthrough. Riley, however, was not impressed.

"Albuquerque. See, I can do it, too. Snorkel!"

"That's where the map is," Shaw growled at him before turning back to Ben. "It's like you said, 'fifty-five in iron pen'. 'Iron pen' is a prison."

But Ben brushed away that idea, preferring instead to pursue his own theory about iron gall ink.

In the meantime, Haley leaned over toward Shaw and in a lame attempt to cheer him up, whispered, "I thought it was a good idea." He actually deigned to acknowledge her comment, to which she responded with an encouraging nod. She always did have a soft spot for the "bad guys."

Just then, Ben's train of thought finally led him down the right road, and he arrived at the inevitable conclusion that was the crux of the entire movie: a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

Riley shook his head, as though rousing himself from a trance. "Wait a minute, Ben, there's no treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence."

"Yeah, that _is_ pretty hard to believe," Tori chimed in, striving to sound as amazed yet skeptical as the rest of them. "I mean, wouldn't someone have found out about it before now?"

Ian spoke up from where he sat. "It's quite clever, really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said there were several Masons signed it, yeah?"

"Yeah," Ben confirmed. "Nine, for sure."

"We'll have to arrange a way to examine it, then."

The treasure hunter shook his head as he sat down beside his partner. "This is one of the most important documents in history, Ian, they're not just gonna let us waltz in there and run chemical tests on it."

Ian's patience was visibly wearing thin. "Then what do you propose we do?"

"I don't know!" Ben exclaimed, equally aggravated with the apparent hopelessness of his situation. His hands were tied now. What else was he to do?

"We could borrow it," Ian suggested softly after a moment's pause.

Ben's gaze hardened. "You mean steal it?"

"No, borrow it," Haley spoke up excitedly; she'd always wanted to use this line here. "Borrow it without permission, but with every intention of giving it back, savvy?"

And despite the mounting tension of the situation, Tori had to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, afterwards muttering something about Jack Sparrow and Bruckheimer films.

Ben shook his head again and turned his attention back to Ian. "How?"

"We all have our areas of expertise," the blonde Englishman began slowly. "You don't think mine are limited to writing checks, do you? In another life, I arranged a number of operations of…questionable legality."

Now it was Haley's turn to choke back a laugh. That was probably her and Olive's favorite line of the entire movie! But when Ben still refused to cooperate with Ian, even after Shaw's rather explicit confirmation, she just couldn't resist stepping in with another speech she'd always wanted to deliver at this scene: the Speech in Ian's defense.

She began, "Ben, I think it's pretty clear now that Ian's going to steal the Declaration with or without you, so why not let it be with you? Let him arrange to 'borrow' it, and you can be the one to examine it and make sure it's properly handled. I mean, you guys could practically steal this thing and give it back when you're done, without anyone ever knowing who did it! And where would be the harm in that? Come on, Ben, Ian may be British, but he's not gonna tear up or burn up the Declaration of Independence. Have some faith in the guy already! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him."

"You know," Tori spoke up, addressing Ben and Riley who were both trying hard to ignore the look of smug satisfaction on Shaw's face, "I hate to admit it, 'cause I'm on your guys' side, but…she does have a point."

"No," Ben stated again, as adamant as ever. "Ian, I'm not gonna let you steal the Declaration, and no one's going to persuade me otherwise," he added with a dark glance at Haley. She didn't care. He'd never been one of her favorite characters, anyway.

Ian was speaking quietly. "Very well. In that case, all you're going to be from now on is a hindrance." He then offered a minute nod toward Shaw who immediately drew out his gun and pointed it at Ben.

"Hey!"

"Quiet, Riley," Ian snapped. "Your job's finished here."

Tori had ducked unashamedly behind Riley when the gun came out, and Haley was lingering back behind Shaw, as far away from the line of fire as possible. Unfortunately for Tori, she seemed to have forgotten that the gun ended up being aimed directly at Riley. Perhaps it was the unreal excitement of being able to stand right next to him that made her forget?

Suddenly, Ben lit the flare, and everything proceeded as the girls remembered from the movie, although they both still caught their breath when Ben threw the flare at Shaw, only to have Ian snatch it up. What if he'd dropped it this time? But it didn't really matter, as his sleeve caught on fire almost immediately thereafter, and in the blink of an eye, there was light and fire everywhere.

"Get out, Shaw!" Ian yelled at his right-hand-man as they both backed away toward the cargo hold entrance. Shaw backed straight into Haley, whom he grabbed without a word and shoved out the door.

"Bye, Tori!" Haley called after her friend as she was pulled away. She knew Tori would be fine if she stuck with Ben and Riley, but she truly hadn't expected to be dragged away herself by the other side. _Hmm, isn't this how it usually goes in all those fics, though?_ she pondered to herself. But there wasn't time for much else.

Ian came dashing out behind them, bolting the door as he went with a bitter exclamation of "Fool!" Then it was a race back up to the top of the ship and as far away from it as possible. Shaw darted out ahead of them, screaming at the others standing nearby to "Move! Get out!"

Haley followed, yet it wasn't long before she started falling behind. It was almost impossible to run in those heavy snow boots that were too big for her to begin with. But as Ian passed by her, he grabbed her arm and quite literally dragged her after him toward the big snow vehicles. He opened the door and unceremoniously shoved her into the back while Shaw jumped into the driver's seat. They sped away, and the other men in the second vehicle followed, struggling to put as much distance between themselves and the volatile vessel as possible.

Meanwhile, back in the belly of the ship, Ben had discovered the smuggler's hold and called for Riley and Tori to join him. Riley grabbed a hold of Tori's arm and pulled her forward with him, dodging sparks and flames as they went along the way. Ben frantically ushered them down into the hold and jumped in after them, pulling the door shut behind him. He then led them down a narrow corridor until they came to another barricaded room.

Ben shoved them inside of the closed space and onto the ground, bolted the door behind him, and finally dropped down himself, doing his best to shield both Riley and Tori for when the concussion came. The braced themselves…

And _The Charlotte _exploded.

**Authors' End Note: **And, as always seems to be the case in such fics, the first chapter is the most outrageous and unbelievable of all. Don't worry, we know how insane it all is. But it will get better – trust us! Obviously, reviews aren't the main objective of this story, as the whole thing is essentially one big inside joke between Tori and myself. But still no flames, if you please, as this fic is purely for fun and by no means a serious literary endeavor. For a more accurate assessment of our writing skills, please feel free to check out our profiles for our other more serious fanfics. Thanks, everyone!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei **and** HaloFin17.** Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Author's Note: **After that wild and wholly unbelievable ride in the first chapter, this is where things finally fall into a sort of rhythm that you can expect to be continued throughout the rest of the story. We posted the first two chapters in one day so that you all could get more of an appropriate feel for this fic as a whole. Enjoy!

**Chapter 2**

Haley looked back at the smoke-wreathed remains of _The Charlotte_, reminding herself all the while to act as stunned and dumbfounded as her new companions.

"Ok, let's go," Ian said at last, his voice heavy. "Before someone sees the smoke."

Shaw complied without a word, and from where she sat behind them, Haley timidly cleared her throat. "So, um, does this make me like a captive or a hostage now?"

Ian and Shaw exchanged looks. They apparently understood each other, but she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"I suppose so," Ian answered at length. "But then again, you don't seem too anxious to get away." He glanced back at her, as though to see how she'd respond.

She just shrugged. "Well, it's not like I have anywhere to run off to, so I guess we're stuck together for a while."

* * *

Tori opened her eyes to see Riley Poole's face right next to hers. Fangirl-ish butterflies flew wildly in her stomach for a moment, but she valiantly suppressed them.

"You two all right?" Ben asked as he hauled them both to their feet.

"Yeah, we're fine," Riley answered, speaking for both of them.

Ben led them back out into the blinding brightness of the snow-covered terrain, and Tori squinted against the sun.

"Wow, that explosion was a lot louder than I ever thought it would be," she murmured to herself, but not quietly enough.

"What was that?" Riley asked, sounding innocently curious.

The young brunette froze. "Uh, I was just thinking about how loud an explosion is when you're right next to it. Nothing like the fireworks on Fourth of July, huh?"

"I suppose not…" Riley began, but Ben, oblivious to their conversation, cut him off.

"There's an outpost not too far from here. Bush pilots, mostly, but they should see the smoke and come for us before long."

"Then what do we do?" his techie friend inquired.

"We start making our way back home."

"No, I meant about Ian. He's gonna steal the Declaration of Independence, Ben."

Benjamin Gates finally stood still and turned to meet his companions squarely in the eye. "We stop him."

"Great!" Tori exclaimed happily. "But, before we do that, can I get some new clothes? Please?"

Ben chuckled. "Sure. We'll take care of it as soon as we get back to DC."

Tori opened her mouth to thank him when all of a sudden, she felt a slight vibrating in her shorts' pocket beneath the borrowed parka, and her eyes went wide. She still had her cell phone.

* * *

Once Haley was certain Ian and Shaw's attention was diverted elsewhere, most likely in the low conversation they were carrying on about what to do next, she carefully fished her cell phone out of her pocket and as subtly as possible, sent a text message to Tori's phone.

"_You OK?"_

Within a minute, her friend's reply had come.

"_Yep, we're good!"_

"_Great! I knew you'd survive. (Insert smiley face.)"_

"_I can't believe our phones still work."_

"_Me 2! I just hope Ian doesn't take mine."_

"_Lol, good luck with that. We'll be in touch!"_

Haley grinned as the conversation ended, but before she could return the device to her pocket, curiosity overcame her, and she hit the speed dial button to call her home back in Chicago. No response. The call didn't even ring. Haley frowned. That was unfortunate, to be sure, but at least she could still chat with Tori. Provided, of course, that her guardians didn't catch on to what she was doing.

They had reached their destination now, a small airport in the middle of snowy nowhere. They all got out, and Ian led the way to one of the decent-sized planes – his own, Haley imagined. He also introduced her formally to the rest of his crew, which consisted of Powell, Phil, and Viktor.

Haley couldn't help but chuckle to herself when they were all amazed at how well she remembered each of their names. Oh, if only they knew…

* * *

Right after they arrived back in the States, Ben took Tori straight to the nearest Target for new clothes. She was in and out of the large store in less than half an hour and looking very much like herself again in jeans, tennis shoes, and an Aerosmith T-shirt. She had also purchased a light sweater-jacket, as the autumn weather was a tad chilly.

Riley grinned at her. "Hey, not bad, T! Next time I need to go shopping, I am so going with you."

"Uh, thanks?" Tori just grinned at him then, not entirely sure how to respond to the obscure compliment or to her newly-earned nickname: "T". She had likewise discovered, after confiscating Riley's iPod during the trip, that the two of them also had startlingly similar tastes in music.

"Come on, you two," Ben summoned, urging them on to action as was his wont. "We've got work to do."

* * *

Their overnight flight back to Washington D.C. had been uneventful, at best. Ian had isolated himself in the back of the plane so as to improve his ability to think clearly, and the rest of them had been more or less silent the entire time. It was probably the "deaths" of those they'd left behind that still haunted them, forcing them into an uncomfortable silence. For her part, Haley had just been bored.

Now they were all making themselves at home in the two-bedroom apartment Ian had rented for their use as long as they were in the area. The Brit himself was setting up his laptop on the kitchen table, by all appearances ready to dive right back into his investigation, but Shaw seemed to have other ideas when he strategically positioned himself between his leader and the computer.

"Ian, you should get some rest. You were up all night during the flight working on this stuff. Why don't you take a break?"

Ian regarded his friend with minimal concern. "What else is there to do?"

"You could take me shopping!" Haley broke in excitedly. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but I _am_ still wearing someone's spare winter coat."

The Englishman appeared slightly aggravated by her request, but there was little arguing the point that she did need new clothes.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "Let's go."

Twenty minutes later, the two of them arrived at Nordstrom's, and Haley was turned loose. But after about forty-five minutes, Ian's patience was wearing thin.

"What's taking so bloody long?" he demanded.

"I'm just trying to spend your money wisely," she calmly reasoned with him. "What's the point of buying new clothes if they don't fit you just right? And since it looks like I could still be a while here, why don't you take a nap? That way I can tell the guys when we get back that you really did rest and are ready to start working again."

Ian considered that a moment. "Tempting. But how do I know you won't wander off once my eyes are closed?"

"I haven't tried to get away yet, have I, so why would I start now? As you know, I really don't have anywhere else to go. And besides, if I run away, who's gonna buy all these clothes? Which reminds me, are shoes included in this shopping spree?"

"Sure." Ian sat down on one of the sofas outside the fitting room and closed his eyes. "Wake me up when you're ready to checkout."

"Thanks!" Haley called over to him, then continued shopping. And how grateful she was that his eyes were closed when she felt her phone vibrating.

* * *

Ben, Riley, and Tori emerged from the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building with disappointment written all over their faces. Even Tori, who knew how it would all turn out, was starting to get discouraged after being turned away and laughed at so many times. There was a good reason why the movie hadn't shown all that.

"For what it's worth, you guys had me convinced," she told them.

Beside her, Riley was ranting out his frustration that anyone who might help them wouldn't believe them, and anyone who might be crazy enough to believe them wouldn't be able to help.

"We don't need 'crazy'," Ben stated calmly. "But take one step short of crazy, and what do you get?"

"One step short of crazy?" the techie echoed, then pointed straight at Tori. "You get her!"

"You get passionate," Ben supplied before Tori could playfully protest Riley's verbal treatment, and within the hour, they were at the National Archives Building, waiting in the lobby to see a certain Dr. Chase. While Ben skimmed over pamphlets sitting on the nearby coffee table and Riley nervously twiddled his thumbs, Tori fished out her phone to text.

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"_Hi! I'm shopping with Ian. It's really quite fun. U?"_

"_We're about to meet Abigail."_

"_Oh boy. Good luck!"_

"_Thx. We'll need it."_

"_Oh, and fyi, I think our phones only work w/ each other. I keep trying to call other #'s, and nothing works."_

"_Bummer. I'll remember that. Ttyl!"_

"_Have fun - Bye!"_

* * *

Haley slipped her phone back into her pocket and stole a glance over at Ian. It looked like he really was asleep. Thank goodness! It was about time to wake him up and check out, anyway. She perused her items to purchase one last time: a cute pair of faded blue jeans, a black three-quarter length shirt, and a black leather jacket very similar to the one she had left behind back home in the "real world." She figured she would need it to fit in with this crowd.

The hardest part by far had been the shoes. It had taken every fiber of strength in her being to pass up so many pairs of cute heels, but she had overcome temptation and opted for a pair of practical tennis shoes, appropriate for all the walking/running they were sure to do in the near future.

Ian paid for the merchandise, appearing not to care in the least that the purchase total was for several hundred dollars, and on the way home, he graciously stopped at a local Walgreens so Haley could equip herself with necessary toiletries – hairbrush, toothbrush, and the like. She got back into his SUV when they were finished, now feeling much more confident. She was ready to face the movie!

* * *

Dr. Chase's assistant ushered them into the office, and when a familiar blonde woman stepped forward to greet them, Tori had to battle every urge imaginable to run up and hug her, exclaiming, "Oh my gosh, I _love _your accent!" or "What was it like playing Helen of Troy?" As it was, she maintained her composure rather well and shook Abigail's proffered hand without ceremony. The only difficulty now would be in not accidentally calling her "The Mean Declaration Lady" before Riley did.

Tori didn't say much as their interview with Abigail progressed, but it wasn't long before she realized that, while Abigail's teasing them may have been somewhat humorous in the film, being on the receiving end of it oneself was an entirely different matter. She even found herself squirming uncomfortably in her seat before long and couldn't breathe easy again until Ben politely excused them, and they were out the door.

"Charming lady, huh?" she posed to Riley, whose sarcasm took the cue.

"Yeah, right – charming. She was pretty hot, though, you have to admit."

Ben turned around to give him a silencing glare, but Tori could see easily enough that their dedicated friend agreed with that last statement one hundred and ten percent. And it would only be a matter of time before the two history buffs themselves realized it. She hid her infectious smile behind a feigned yawn at the thought.

By now, Ben had led them back down into the main display area for the documents of the National Archives, and no surprise, he had stopped directly in front of the Declaration of Independence.

"A hundred and eighty years of searching, and I'm three feet away," he muttered so quietly that the others could barely hear him, but there was a calm resolution in his voice that was almost unnerving. "I'm gonna steal it."

Riley blinked himself out of his reverie and exchanged disbelieving glances with Tori. "What?"

Benjamin Franklin Gates turned aside and marched briskly forth from the United States National Archives. "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: **Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei **and** HaloFin17.** Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Authors' Note: **Wow, I must say we're very pleased with this fic's acceptance so far. Many thanks to **TheBlueHour, Spellinggirl, Miss Fenway, fallen.leaves19, **and **The Angelic Prophecy **for all of your encouraging reviews! We're very glad to have entertained you and made you laugh, since that's been our intention all along. Now please do enjoy this next chapter, and we'll ttyl!

**Chapter 3**

"Now, Ben, pay close attention. I have brought you to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's the largest library in the world. Over twenty million books, and they're all saying the exact same thing: Listen to Riley."

Tori grinned while taking in the stunning beauty of the building where they now sat. For her own part, she would have been happy to "listen to Riley" all day long. And indeed, there was much listening to be done as the techie described the various measures of security taken to protect one of the nation's most precious documents, even though she was pretty lost with all of the description.

But in the end, though, Ben was unfazed. "Did you know that Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly two thousand times to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb?" Tori knew what was coming and couldn't suppress a grin, for she and a friend from her AP History class had quoted Edison's exact words to their teacher. "When asked about it, he said, 'I didn't fail. I just found two thousand ways how _not _to make a light bulb.'"

He leaned forward and set an open book down for his friend's examination. "The preservation room. Do you know what the preservation room is for?"

Riley shrugged, still confused. "Delicious jams and jellies?"

Tori stifled a giggle behind her hand. Yet another Riley line that was even better delivered in person! The techie continued to hurriedly scan pages of the book Ben had thrust under his nose while the treasure hunter himself explained that there was the least amount of security in the preservation room and that the best time for them, or Ian, to steal the Declaration would be during the gala that weekend.

Riley eventually sighed, looked up at his friend, and confessed, "This might be possible."

--

Tori sat with Ben at the kitchen table in his apartment, gazing over his shoulder while he attempted to replicate an ID that would grant him partial access into the Archives Building. Riley was off in the subway hacking into the Archives' video feed.

"Move the picture down a little," she urged Ben. "It's not quite center."

The treasure hunter raised his eyebrows. "All right, then, if you're such an expert, why don't you do it?"

"Why, thank you, I believe I will!" Tori grinned broadly and took Ben's seat. This was exactly along the lines of what she'd been practicing in her Graphic Designclasses in school. Never with the intention of using such skills illegally, of course.

Now it was Ben's turn to watch over her shoulder as she worked, and when she was finished, he had to admit it was, "Not bad." He then went about mixing the cloudy concoction with which he would coat the campaign button destined for Abigail Chase's fingertips. He tested it out by drawing a smiley face on the table with his finger and then shining the special light on it to reveal the marks left behind.

As soon as his back was turned, Tori sneaked up to the table, dipped her fingers in the mixture, and proceeded with a little artwork of her own. Smiling devilishly, she grabbed the little light and stepped back to admire her handiwork: two hearts, one with the initials "R&T" and the other with "I&H".

Later that same day, Tori went back to the National Archives Building with Riley to try out his nifty laser. Once they had determined that it worked to raise the temperature, she waited out in the van while he went inside and set off one of the heat detectors in the Declaration's casing. He returned to the van in short order and promptly switched on his screen to display what was happening in the preservation room.

"Here," he said, opening a bag of Cheetos and offering some to Tori. "Time to sit back and watch the show."

And watch they did as Dr. Chase entered the room and diagnosed that the sensors in the casing all needed to be changed out.

Riley looked over at Tori and grinned mischievously. "Our evil plan is working."

* * *

Boredom. It was the one word on Haley's mind as she sat in the apartment watching the guys get ready for the heist that very night. At least Tori, with all her knowledge of some of those elaborate computer programs, had probably been able to help Ben and Riley with their preparations. But not her. She knew nothing about the weapons and explosives these men were handling. Curse her lack of mechanical knowledge! Yep, it was sheer boredom here, and no one seemed to be paying her much attention.

Her eyes wandered around the room yet again, until this time she spotted something in a far corner that she couldn't believe she'd overlooked before. A bookshelf. Her life was saved! Feeling much like a kid in a candy store, she hopped up and scurried over to peruse titles. And still, most of the guys seemed too caught up in their work to notice. She began to worry when at first there wasn't much to catch her fancy, but she was rescued by one of the largest volumes on the shelf – _The Complete Shakespeare_. She grabbed the tome at once and plopped back down in her chair, already debating about whether she was in the mood for a comedy or a tragedy. She opted for tragedy and opened up straight to "Romeo and Juliet." After all, who doesn't love Mercutio?

As she moved forward in the play, Haley kept sneaking glances at the guys while they were working. It was still quite an unreal experience to be sitting here in the same room with them! And it hadn't taken her long to notice that most of them were exactly what the movie portrayed them to be, only to an even greater extent.

For example, Viktor was even dumber than she had originally thought him to be, yet Ian was proving himself to be far smarter than even she, one of his most loyal fans, had ever imagined. Shaw was still the scary one, as she'd always known, and the more time she spent around him, the more she realized how true it was that he was the last person she would ever want to meet in a dark alley. She would have to confirm that with Tori later, as it was kind of an inside joke between them.

As far as Powell was concerned, Haley found herself wishing the movie had given him more screen time. The guy was hilarious, and it seemed like he made her chuckle every time he spoke! She adored his accent, too, although not quite as much as Ian's. Phil was every bit as quiet in person as he was in the movie, perhaps because he always seemed to have the greatest amount of work assigned to him. He was also much taller than Haley had realized. And was it just her imagination, or did it seem that every time she glanced over at him, he had been looking at her, too?

But imagination aside, she finished the play, and now that she was good and depressed, Ian announced with a grim smile of anticipation that it was time to go.

* * *

Tori sat in the red van, wordlessly observing as Riley tried to give Ben some last minute advice and clarification, but the treasure hunter was too focused to pay him any mind and ended up slamming the door right in his face. Now slightly flustered, Riley put on his earpiece and established communication with Ben.

"Unfortunately, yes, I can hear you."

Tori sighed. She would have loved to have gone with Ben into the gala, but she knew it simply wasn't practical to the rest of the plan. And so she sat in the van with Riley.

"Hey, can you put him on speaker?" she demanded suddenly, to which Riley shook his head and motioned impatiently for her to be quiet.

So she tried again. "But I wanna know what's going on. Here, let me talk to him." With that, she reached out and attempted to literally grab the earpiece away from his head. Riley tried to swat her away, but Tori had the element of surprise on her side, and she successfully confiscated the device.

"Hello, Ben?" she called, now trying to fight off Riley in her turn as he sought to reclaim his beloved piece of technology.

"Tori?" Ben echoed back in a whisper. He clearly wasn't expecting to hear her voice. "Tori, what are you doing? Give the phone back to Riley."

"But I wanted to talk to you and see how things were going."

"They're going fine, I'm just on my way into the bathroom to get her fingerprints right now. But, Tori, I'm gonna need the security cameras turned off pretty soon. Do you know how to do that?"

"Um, no."

Ben's voice was tense. "Then give the phone back to Riley."

"Oh, fine," she gave in and finally allowed Riley to wrest the earpiece from her grip.

* * *

Meanwhile, Haley sat in Ian's "borrowed" catering van. She had all but begged to come along, as it would have been so cool to see these guys in action, but Ian had most adamantly declined the request, telling her to stay in the van with Viktor until they got back. Bummer. She pouted for a very brief moment but soon recovered and peered out the windshield to see a familiar red van not far from where they were parked. She eagerly dug her phone out of her pocket.

"_Hey, I see you!"_

"_I see U2! So we both got left behind in the van, huh?"_

"_Yep, unfortunately. Viktor's listening to some weird Russian music up front. I'm gonna see if I can change it."_

"_Lol, good luck!"_

"_Thx. See ya in Philly!"_

Haley then climbed up into the front seat beside Viktor, who glanced over at her but didn't say anything.

"So," she tried casually, "any chance of changing the music?"

"Noh."

"Ok. I thought not."

* * *

Tori put away her cell phone and turned her attention back to Riley, who was now reading off possible passwords for the letters Ben had provided him. She bit her tongue. It was so hard not to scream out, "It's 'Valley Forge', genius!" Not long after, Riley went into a veritable state of panic when his visual of the preservation room suddenly turned to static. Tori, of course, recognized it as Phil's handiwork.

"Is it heavy?" Riley asked, in reference to Ben's carrying the entire Declaration display case. Then, "Wait a minute, what was that? Ben, what's going on? Is someone shooting? Ben!"

"Riley, calm down," Tori told him, laying a hand on his shoulder to placate him. She could faintly hear Ben telling his friend what had transpired.

"Ian?" Riley echoed. "I hate that guy."

Tori feigned surprise – she was getting pretty good at it by now. "Ian was there? What about Haley, did Ben see her?"

"I'll ask him. Ben, did you see Tori's friend, Haley?" The techie shook his head. "No, he didn't. I'm sorry, Tori, but I'm sure she's okay. I mean, Ian may be a complete jerk, but I don't think he would actually hurt her."

"I hope not. Thanks, Riley." She smiled up at him, genuinely grateful for his support.

"No problem," he replied. "Now let's get this stuff cleaned up a bit before Ben gets out here. He should be on his way."

So they put the technical equipment away as best they could and climbed up front to wait for Ben, who soon reappeared from out of the building.

"Ben," Riley stuttered nervously, "Ben, the Mean Declaration Lady is behind you."

Sure enough, Tori craned her neck to see Abigail trailing after Ben with determination in her step. The soon-to-be high school senior couldn't see or hear any of what passed between the two history experts, but before long, Ben came around to the passenger's side of the van and motioned for her to get in the back. Tori vehemently shook her in reply and motioned for _him_ to get in the back.

From his place in the driver's seat, Riley finally stopped drumming his fingers anxiously against the steering wheel and shouted, "Come on, Ben, just get in! We're wasting time!"

Ben complied, though grudgingly, until he saw Abigail being dragged away by two of Ian's henchmen.

"Oh, bad."

* * *

Still waiting rather impatiently inside the catering van, Haley recognized Ben Gates as he walked out of the Archives Building and across the street. _Time to go, _she thought and hopped in back so that she was ready and waiting when Shaw tossed up the first of their equipment bags. He was then the first to emerge from the hole in the floor, followed almost immediately by Phil.

A moment later, Ian confidently stuck his head up and yelled, "Viktor, move!"

"But wait until Ian's inside the van first!" Haley added in a rush. This part in the movie had always given her a little scare. "Honestly, Ian, the last thing we need is for you to get run over and/or cut in half." She offered him a hand up which, much to her great surprise, he accepted.

* * *

Ben jumped into the back of the van, crying all the while for Riley to start driving. But before the techie could put the van in gear, bullets suddenly started ricocheting all around them, sparking off the metal and shattering the glass. Tori shrieked and frantically covered her head with her arms. When the bullets stopped flying, she exchanged terrified looks with Riley. It was _way _scarier getting shot at in real life than watching it happen in the movie!

"Riley, let's go!" Ben shouted, and they were off.

* * *

Haley watched impassively as Shaw and Powell dragged a struggling Abigail inside the van. Once they were all in, Viktor hit the accelerator, and the chase was on. Ian conversed with Abigail as much as he was able to before the ride got extremely rocky. Pots and pans started falling from compartments overhead as they bumped violently along, and Haley grabbed on to the closest thing she could find to stabilize herself. For better or for worse, the thing closest to her was Phil.

"Sorry!" she cried, but he didn't seem to mind. He even steadied her with a hand on her arm when they both swayed dangerously.

Suddenly, there was a cry from farther back in the van as the door swung open with Abigail hanging onto it for dear life. Shaw stepped forward, drawing his gun, but Ian stopped him once, saying, "If she falls, the document falls!" The Englishman himself moved to the back of the van, and when the door swung back, he wrenched the precious document case from Abigail's grasp.

"Thank you," he said with a courteous smile, then motioned for Shaw to proceed.

* * *

"Get me next to her!" Ben yelled while Riley tried to move their van closer to Ian's so the treasure hunter could get a hold of Abigail, who still clung desperately to the swinging door of the catering van. He reached for her…

"Look out!" Tori screamed, far too caught up in the adrenaline of the moment to remember that she wasn't supposed to be interfering, and Ben jumped back just in time to prevent his head from being torn off by an oncoming bus. She watched in the side-view mirror as Ben finally grabbed onto Abigail and pulled her back into their own vehicle, miraculously escaping each of the bullets fired in their direction. Ben slammed the door shut, and the van flew around a corner as Riley sped off into the night.

* * *

Shaw looked not a little disappointed when he pulled his head back inside the van and addressed his leader. "Lost 'em."

"That's all right," Ian assured him, smiling. "This is all we need." He gleefully unrolled the "Declaration," and Haley carefully positioned herself behind Phil prior to the outburst.

"Well done, Gates," the enraged Englishman muttered. "Well done."

Haley spoke up then, deciding to keep up her charade of ignorance. "Gates? Isn't he that guy from the ship? The one who swore he would never let you steal the Declaration of Independence, so you left him behind to get blown up?"

"Yes, that was him, and he just stole the bloody thing himself! Although not entirely by himself," Ian amended his last statement. "Riley must have survived, too. There's no way Gates could have done all that alone."

A huge and very genuine smile exploded across Haley's face. "Then that means Tori must be alive, too! Yay!"

In the midst of her ecstasy, she reached out and hugged the person closest to her, which again happened to be Phil. He stiffened visibly in surprise and awkwardly patted her shoulder when she didn't release him right away. Suddenly sensing his discomfort, Haley let go and glanced around nervously at the others. Shaw and Ian were already deep in a hushed discussion together, too engrossed in the next step of the treasure hunt to notice what had just transpired, but when she looked over at Powell, he was already staring at her with a very bemused look on his face. His eyes darted over to Phil, then back to her. Haley stared back at him, confused.

"Oh, all right, you can have a hug, too," she said at last, resuming her previous cheer and flinging her arms around Powell's neck. He returned the gesture with considerably more confidence than Phil, and Haley couldn't help feeling relieved. At least this way, with her back turned, no one could see the inexplicable blush she had felt creeping across her cheeks.

**A/N**: This is **Tori **now, guys, **Halo **did the first one. I'm just glad that you're all having as much fun as we are with this story, because we're having a blast. And a reminder, the "us" characters in this story are perfect portrayals of us. We're not doing anything that we wouldn't say or do in real life (yes, my school does specify in the arts, so I do really know how to make a fake I.D. card and would probably be better at it than Ben since I've had an entire year of practice with the program he used) and sorry to say, Haley's not as good at it was I would be. And no dark pasts for us, we're not making ourselves more beautiful than we are, and we're not giving ourselves any extra talents. This is just for pure fun, so I'm glad you guys like it! Just no flames please! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: **Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei **and** HaloFin17.** Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Hey, everybody! All I can truly say here is thank you so much to **daisyduke80, TheBlueHour, Miss Fenway, Thuraya Known, barrelracer1415, **and **GreenLightsaberGirl **for all of your encouraging responses! Your reviews are very, very much appreciated! Now, just a quick note to my fellow fans of "The Forgotten Heir," **Tori's **other NT fic, I can safely assure you that you needn't be worried about it. I can vouch for her that she's got that fic under control, and you're all gonna be in for one wild ride! There's a lot of stuff that even I don't know about yet, and won't until I read it just like everyone else, lol. And now going back to our "fun fic," here's Chapter Four!

**Chapter 4**

Abigail Chase was in a frenzied state of panic, and until now, Tori hadn't realized just how aggravating it was that Ben couldn't get a word in edgewise when all he wanted to do was make sure she was okay.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" He was trying to speak as clearly and plainly as he could, but she just wouldn't listen to him. "Are you hungry?"

That at least got her to slow down. "What?!"

"Are you all right?"

"Still a little on edge from being shot at, but thanks, I'm good," Riley called back to him from the driver's seat. He then turned to Tori, who still sat pale-faced in the seat beside him, and asked with genuine concern, "How about you, T? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," she replied quietly, the butterflies starting to take wing again in her stomach upon hearing the worry in Riley's voice.

Meanwhile, Ben was still trying to pacify Abigail. "Now just calm down, everything's going to be all right."

"No, it's not!" she cut him off. "Those men, those lunatics…"

"Did you see a girl lunatic there with them?" Tori broke in suddenly, turning around partially in her seat. "Brown hair, glasses?"

Abigail nodded. "Yes."

"That's Haley!" Tori reached over and joyfully pulled Riley into a hug.

"Hey, hey, I'm driving here!"

"Sorry, I'm just happy she's okay!"

Riley looked down at his shoulder where her hand had been, and his eyes went wide when he saw red. "Tori, you're bleeding!"

She blinked at him stupidly. "I am?"

"Yes, look at your hand."

The brunette held up her left hand and saw that there was indeed blood running in between her fingers from a cut in her palm. She hadn't even felt it.

"It must be from a shard of glass," she reasoned, "but it doesn't look that bad. It doesn't even hurt right now. Don't worry. I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"You still need to get it taken care of," Riley told her, his eyes constantly dancing back and forth between the road and her scarlet hand. "I think I've got a first aid kit in the back somewhere. Hey, Ben, can we stop sometime soon – like very soon?"

"Go ahead, Riley, I was just about to ask you to pull over. Now, you see," he said, once again addressing Abigail, "those 'lunatics,' as you call them, don't have the Declaration of Independence because _you_ only had a replica. _I _still have the real thing."

Despite his concern for Tori, Riley grinned. "Genius."

Dr. Chase threw up her hands. "You're all lunatics!"

"Would you stop shouting, please?" Ben sounded as though he were talking to a small child. "All you've done since you got here is shout, and it's really starting to annoy."

By now, Riley had pulled off the road to an empty parking lot near the Jefferson Memorial. He hopped into the back of the van, found the first aid kit, and came over to the passenger's side to help clean and bandage Tori's cut. It really wasn't anything too serious, as Tori had originally suspected, but it was still reassuring to both of them once a band-aid and some antibiotics had been applied, though to Tori's dismay, it stung a little.

Meanwhile, Ben had handed the document case containing the Declaration to Abigail and was pacing restlessly across the lawn.

"Come on, Ben, you know what you need to," Riley told him, understandably anxious now that they all knew about Ben's credit card slip. In that one blink of an eye, their options had suddenly become very limited.

"I know, I know! I'm just wishing there was something else we could do. But we need those Silence Dogood letters."

"Ben, it took you all of two seconds to decide to steal the Declaration of Independence…"

"Right, I just never thought I would personally have to tell my dad about it."

At that moment, Abigail leapt to her now bare feet and made a dash back for the main road, but Ben fortunately caught her before she could get too far. He then tried to shoo her off, but Dr. Abigail Chase was not going anywhere. To use her own words, "not without the Declaration." And when Ben realized she already knew where they were going, he simply had no choice but to bring her along.

As the bickering couple made their way back to the van, Riley glanced over at Tori and winked. "She wants him."

Tori laughed aloud and replied, "Oh, yeah. You can totally tell. They'd be great together."

* * *

Back in Ian's rented apartment, all was solemn. Though everything had gone smoothly in the execution of their plan, they had nothing to show for it, save for some competition newly "returned from the dead," as Viktor put it. Ian sat down at once to resume delving into the minutia of the clue they'd found on _The Charlotte _while the others wordlessly put away their equipment and began settling in for the night.

Haley slumped down into the same overstuffed chair she had claimed earlier in the day and heaved a sigh, listening with half an ear as Powell ordered some pizzas. Thankfully, he didn't order anything with anchovies. Her eyes wandered back over to where Ian sat at the table, already so engrossed in his own train of thought that she doubted even hot pizza after a hard day's work would be able to distract him. Come to think of it, she couldn't recall seeing him eat much of anything all day.

_I guess he really does do all the thinking in this outfit, _she thought to herself.

Just then, Shaw turned on the TV from where he sat on the couch and started surfing through channels, no doubt searching for some appropriate guy action flick. One channel he flipped past had shown a brief moment of two familiar fish, one blue and one orange.

"Hey, _Finding Nemo_!" Haley exclaimed happily. "Shaw, go back!" But the bald Brit just took a sip from his beer and kept on going, as though he hadn't even heard her.

"Or not," she muttered under her breath while Shaw finally stopped at a film more to his liking – _The Matrix._ And conveniently, he had turned it on right at the part where Neo says, "We need guns. Lots of guns."

_What a typical Shaw movie, _Haley mused and very nearly laughed aloud at the irony of it all. At least it was also one of her own personal favorites. Now where in this crazy movie world was that pizza?

* * *

Not long after their first stop, Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Tori all sat in the van staring out at a dimly lit house. It seemed ordinary and innocent enough, yet a foreboding sense of dread still hung over all of them. All of them except Tori, of course, who personally couldn't wait to meet the home's lone inhabitant.

"So, do we go in?" Riley asked, shifting anxiously.

"Park around on the other side of the block," Ben told him. "I figure we've got about two hours, if we're lucky, before the FBI shows up here."

Riley parked the van, and the four of them walked up to the front doorstep. Ben rang the bell, and they waited. Before long, an elderly man in a bathrobe opened the door, and once again, Tori had to hold back an exclamation of delight when she found herself face-to-face with Patrick Henry Gates. His initial reaction upon seeing them was clearly one of surprise, but when his eyes landed on Ben, they hardened.

Benjamin offered a weak smile. "Hey, Dad."

Patrick studiously looked over each of them in turn. "Where's the party?"

"Dad, I, uh…I'm in a little trouble."

His gaze went back to the two girls behind his son. "Is someone pregnant?"

"Heck no!" Tori exclaimed, horrified that Patrick's line had been adjusted to include her.

Meanwhile, Abigail leaned hesitantly over to Riley and whispered, "I look pregnant?"

Riley allayed her fears with a small shake of his head, and Patrick finally deigned to lead them inside. "Come on in," he said, gesturing. "Have seat, make yourselves at home. There's some pizza over there, if you like. I think it's still warm."

Tori and Riley looked suddenly alive at the mention of "pizza," and they both dove for the box sitting on the coffee table.

"Mm," Tori hummed as she took a big bite. "Nothing like cold pizza, right, Riley?"

"You said it!" he agreed heartily, and the two of them made a "toast" with their half-eaten pieces of cold pizza, not even realizing until their arms were high in the air that they were the subject of Ben and Patrick's heated discussion and that both men were now staring at them in bemusement.

"Sorry," Riley muttered, slightly embarrassed, and Tori did the same.

"Did he drag you three into all this treasure nonsense?" Patrick demanded, to which Abigail responded with a serene nod.

"Literally."

"I, uh, I just sort of dropped in," Tori said after a long moment's hesitation.

Riley beamed proudly. "I volunteered."

"Well, un-volunteer before you waste your life!" Patrick interjected sternly. "I wasted twenty years looking for that dumb treasure, and Ben, I finally figured it out: there never was any treasure. The legend says the treasure was hidden to keep it from the British, but in reality, the legend itself was just created to keep the British occupied, searching for buried treasure. The treasure is a myth, Son."

Ben took a moment to absorb the blow, but he still shook his head and adamantly replied, "I refuse to believe that."

Patrick sighed then and left them, telling them to do whatever they liked but not to get him involved. Tori finished her second piece of pizza and looked at Ben and Abigail expectantly. She knew what was coming up next…

* * *

Haley never had been able to sleep comfortably in a chair. She shifted her position for what must have been the dozenth time that half-hour and sighed. She was tired, but it was difficult to fall asleep, especially with Viktor snoring like a jack-hammer on the couch next to her. He also had the only blanket.

So as one might suppose, their sleeping arrangements were less than ideal. Shortly before midnight, Shaw had more or less forced Ian to go to bed, and the two of them now occupied the apartment's two bedrooms. Which left the rest of them to fend for themselves. Haley had stayed in her chair like a bird on its eggs, Viktor had wasted no time in claiming the couch, and Powell had taken the other recliner, where he now slept contentedly.

Poor Phil had been left with the loveseat, a piece of furniture that was only about half as long as it needed to be to accommodate him comfortably. He was asleep now, Haley noted, though he still looked quite uncomfortable all curled up like that. He had been tossing and turning almost as badly as she had for a while, and he would no doubt feel the aches and pains in his legs tomorrow morning. What time was it now, anyway?

Haley craned her neck to look around for a clock but couldn't find one. Not that it made much of a difference what time it was. The plain fact of the matter was that it was late, and she couldn't sleep. She pulled out her phone, checking once more to make sure the guys in the room were all asleep, and sent another text to Tori.

"_Hi again. I can't sleep. Viktor's snoring."_

"_Lol, too bad. We're in Patrick's car now. I can't sleep either."_

"_Sorry to hear that. I can definitely empathize. Well, good luck."_

"_Thx, U2. See you soon!"_

Haley smiled and stuck her phone back in her pocket. It was great talking to Tori, but she still couldn't sleep. If only she had a blanket, maybe it would help. She looked around again, this time for anything that might serve as at least a makeshift blanket, and her eyes landed on the numerous leather jackets hanging up behind her. Bingo.

She turned around in the chair and reached up for a coat. She went for Phil's first, thinking his would be the longest and therefore the best-suited for her purposes, but just before her hand touched the leather, she froze. There was suddenly a strange nagging sensation in the back of her mind that someone was watching her. She turned her head around and looked back at the others. Viktor was still dead to the world, snoring up a storm, and Phil had his back to her so it was difficult to tell in his case. But when she looked at Powell, his eyes were definitely cracked open.

"Um, hey," she whispered sheepishly. "Sorry if I woke you, but could I please borrow your jacket? You know, like, for a pillow?"

Smiling a little, he nodded his head without a word, and she quickly moved her hand away from Phil's black jacket to grab Powell's brown one. She thanked him and draped the garment over herself, using one of the sleeves as a pillow under her cheek. It was soft and warm and surprisingly enough, it didn't smell too bad. It was the last thought that swam through her head as she finally fell asleep.

* * *

Tori ended her conversation with Haley and closed her phone. They had been on the road for about half an hour now, and she couldn't sleep either. She had hated having to tie up Patrick before they left, but since he was in front of the TV, he didn't seem too upset about the whole situation. And Ben felt quite certain his father wouldn't betray their destination to the FBI when the agents showed up to question him.

But for as much as Tori had hated leaving Patrick temporarily behind, she had _loved _watching Ben and Abigail reveal the cipher on the back of the Declaration of Independence! She had truly thought poor Patrick might have a heart attack when he finally realized exactly what document they were working with, and now they were riding in his smooth Cadillac Deville on their way to Philadelphia to examine the Silence Dogood letters at the Franklin Institute once it opened in the morning.

Ben and Abigail were up front talking about how they needed to go shopping when they got to Philadelphia so they wouldn't look so conspicuous in their formal clothing, and Tori just couldn't resist cutting in.

"See, Ben? Now it's your turn to go shopping! Good thing I already went."

Ben shook his head at her in the rearview mirror, but Riley burst out laughing. "Nice one, T!" He sighed then and curled up under his jacket in the car seat, leaning his head against the cool window. "Ben, your dad has a sweet ride."

Tori grinned and tried to imitate Riley's position on the opposite side of the car, but the more she tried to get comfortable, the worse off she seemed to be. Her head kept bouncing against the window, and trying to sleep sitting up like this was _not _comfortable.

"Wake me when we get there. I'm hungry," her companion complained after a while. "This car smells weird."

Sighing wearily, she gave up on trying to rest and had resigned herself to just being tired all through the coming day, when a sly smile slowly crept over her face. Mustering up her courage, she turned around and leaned back so that she was resting against Riley.

One of the techie's eyes popped open. "Can I help you?"

"Sorry," she told him, "but you're comfier than the window."

That seemed to appease him, and with an amused smile of his own, he closed his eyes. Tori soon fell asleep herself, a very happy young lady as she leaned against Riley Poole.

**Halo's A/N: **Hehe, I'm sure **Tori **in real life is blushing like crazy right now, as well she should be! But don't worry. No doubt my time is coming, and she'll get back at me for it, lol. Thanks for reading, everyone!

**Tori's A/N**: Oh, be afraid, **Halo**. Be _very _afraid. You know what I'm capable of, and you know for sure that I'm going to get you back! Just wait. Just wait. Haha, thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you're liking this as much as we are! Your reviews are much appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: **Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei **and** HaloFin17.** Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Hello again, my fellow NT fans! I can't tell you how pleased Tori and I both are to see that you're all enjoying this fic as much as we are! As silly as this concept is, I must admit it's more fun to write than I ever would have given it credit for. Our special thanks to **TheBlueHour, GreenLightsaberGirl, daisyduke80, Spellinggirl, FillyRSA, Thuraya Known, **and **Miss Fenway **for your wonderful reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad you liked it, especially that little part with Riley and Tori at the end, lol. And now here's Chapter Five for your literary enjoyment.

**Chapter 5**

Haley awoke the next morning to the fresh scent of coffee and slowly opened her eyes. Phil and Viktor were still asleep, the latter _still _snoring, while Powell, Shaw, and Ian sat around the kitchen table with steaming cups of tea and coffee in their hands. Ian was already bent over a small notepad, no doubt still agonizing over the same old clue. He looked tired, and Haley wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't slept a wink. The poor guy was probably up all night with dreams of pipes, and treasure, and Ben Gates' laughing face…

"Good morning," Powell greeted her when he saw she was awake. "Did you sleep well?"

Haley yawned and rubbed her eyes before putting on her glasses. "Eventually, yes. And thanks again for this, by the way." She held up his jacket and returned it to the hanger she'd removed it from the night before.

Just then, Viktor snored with exceptional force, and Haley winced. "How do you guys do it? Sleep through all this racket, I mean."

"Powell can sleep through an earthquake," Shaw told her with a grim smile, "and Ian and I lock ourselves away. I don't know how the rest of you do it."

"Well, it wasn't easy, let me tell you."

Ian looked up from his work, appearing rather disgusted. "Yes, and now it's gone on quite long enough. Somebody wake him up, will you, I can't even hear myself think!"

Smiling wickedly, Shaw strode over to the couch, leaned over Viktor, and flicked him viciously across the ear. The Russian man woke with an angry start, and Shaw just laughed, saying with satisfaction, "Works every time."

"And Haley, why don't you wake up Phil, too," Powell suggested. "It's already getting late."

She nodded, got up, and approached the sleeping figure. "Hey, Phil? Phil, wake up!" She shook his shoulder, but to no avail. He must have really been tired. Perhaps he was up later last night than she'd thought? She poked his arm, again without any luck.

Shaw shook his head as he watched her work. "You're too nice."

"Tell him it's time for school," Powell proposed, and Haley grinned as she leaned forward to give it a try, putting on her best motherly voice.

"Phil, honey, wake up. It's time for school."

Much to her disbelief and the others' extreme amusement, it worked. Phil's eyes cracked open, and he squinted up at her. "What?"

"Rise and shine, Sleepyhead!" Powell called over, and Phil groaned, passing a hand over his bleary eyes. But at least he was awake.

While the guys were going about their morning routines, Haley took an opportunity to check out the kitchen in a little more detail. She gathered what ingredients she could after a brief inspection and made herself a quick omelet.

"Hey, what about the rest of us?"

Haley couldn't believe how much Powell sounded like a little kid. "There was only enough stuff for one," she told him, finishing off the last bite. "Seriously, though, you guys ought to consider spending a little more of your 'hard-earned' money on food and a little less on guns and dynamite."

That certainly caught Shaw's attention, and he threw a dark glare in her direction, warning her as plainly as words not to mess with his most prized possessions.

But since she could hardly stand to see the look of disappointment on Powell's face, the young woman tried to appease him another way by offering, "How about I make cookies for you guys instead? I think you've got everything here for that."

"Good enough!" Viktor exclaimed, enticing a laugh from Haley as she pulled out a mixing bowl. While she worked, she listened with half an ear as Powell discovered the time gap between the making of the Meerschaum pipe and the fifty-sixth signature on the Declaration of Independence, and Shaw explained to Phil how a cipher worked. She was still amazed that the tallest henchman had actually spoken more than a couple of words at one time. Haley had almost forgotten about this deleted scene; yet within the hour, she had a plate full of gooey chocolate chip cookies to proudly pass around.

"Here you go, boys. They're still warm and melty – fresh out of the oven."

The grown men dove into the cookies with as much relish as a bunch of schoolboys, but Ian didn't even seem to hear her. He just stared down at his notepad, doodling little pipes and looking downright frustrated with himself.

"Come on, Ian," she said, waving the plate under his nose so he could catch a strong whiff of the fresh-baked aroma. "Have a cookie. It's brain food."

He only looked up and eyed her skeptically, still ignoring the proffered cookies, until Phil joined in the attempt to convince him. "They _are _really good, Ian."

Haley beamed at the compliment, and Ian finally consented with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, fine." He took a cookie and ate it without a word, but immediately after he'd finished and licked the melted chocolate from his fingers, he made a bold mark on the notepad and turned it around so the others could see. He pointed to the word "Silence" and took the time to deliberately look each of them in the eye.

"Gentlemen – why is this word capitalized?"

Viktor, ever the intellectual, finished his fourth cookie and hypothesized, "Because it's important?"

Ian must have been too relieved that the clue was finally solved because he didn't even address his colleague's absurd proposal before setting the record straight for all of them. "Because it's a _name_."

By the time Ian had finished speaking, Powell had already jumped onto the computer and pulled up the Yahoo! search engine. It wasn't long before a little delving revealed that what they needed were the Silence Dogood letters, written by a young Benjamin Franklin. And soon after, Powell discovered that said letters had been recently donated to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia by one Patrick Gates.

Ian eagerly leaned forward to read the screen over Powell's shoulder and smiled. "Pack up, boys! We're going to Philadelphia."

"Oh, oh!" Haley wildly waved her hand in the air, just like the old days back in school.

The British leader of their group raised his eyebrows at her inquisitively. "Yes?"

"Can I drive this time? Please?"

"No. But now that you mention it, we will be taking two cars. Viktor, you drive one; Phil, the other."

"In that case, I'm riding with Phil!" Haley exclaimed emphatically. "I think I've already had enough of Viktor's driving to last me a lifetime."

* * *

It was a beautiful fall day in Philadelphia, and a young man and woman sat together on a bench across the street from the Franklin Institute. By all accounts, they seemed to be soaking in the sun and sharing a newspaper under the clear blue sky, perhaps working together on a crossword puzzle. But as soon as one wandered within earshot of the couple, any semblance of serenity vanished.

"No, that's wrong," Tori was saying. "There's supposed to be a break in the words right _there_."

Riley rolled his eyes. "All right, don't have a cow! I just wrote it down wrong, that's all; but we can still tell what it says."

"Then what the heck does _that_ say?" She pointed to a particular jumble of letters and tried to sound them out. "Irfrort? Irf Rort of?"

The techie threw up his hands in surrender. "'In front of,' Tori. It says 'In front of'!"

"No, it doesn't! That's an 'r', not an 'n'."

"It is too an 'n'!"

"Well, it doesn't look like an 'n'. It looks like an 'r'."

"Who died and made you Queen of Grammar?" Riley growled. He still hadn't quite forgiven her for making his legs fall asleep in the car last night.

Tori just shook her head, though she knew that English was definitely her best subject. His handwriting truly was a lot messier than she had seen it during those brief glimpses in the movie. "Really, Riley, you've got to learn how to write neater."

"More neatly," he corrected tersely. "Now stop sounding like my old English teacher and be quiet. The kid's coming back."

Sure enough, the little boy they had recruited to help them anonymously obtain the correct letters from Silence Dogood was running across the street to join them, oblivious to the car horns that blared at him along the way. Money was a powerful motivator, as all good treasure hunters know, and to a child, a fistful of single dollar bills was a lot of money.

He came up to them and eagerly handed Riley a post-it note. "_S, S, A, N, D_."

Riley scribbled the letters down along the edge of the newspaper, at the end of the rest they had received thus far, but the kid interrupted him, pointing at one of the latest additions.

"No, I said 'n'."

"That _is _an 'n'."

The kid frowned deeply. "It doesn't look like an 'n'."

Riley's brow furrowed, and Tori had to turn away to hide her laughter. Oh, it was all too perfect!

"Here," the techie said irritably, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible before his witty female companion could get another jab in at him. He handed the kid one more dollar bill and one more sticky note with the last of the letters.

"Thank you," the little boy replied, all businesslike, and Tori grinned. He really was a cute kid. Too bad he'd end up inadvertently giving away their plans to Ian in just a few minutes. Actually, Mr. Howe, his associates, and hopefully Haley were already inside the Institute. She craned her neck to look around but saw none of the familiar faces she'd half-hoped, half-feared to find.

Meanwhile, the kid had run back across the street, and Riley was muttering the clue to himself under his breath, the wheels in his head almost visibly turning. Tori decided to just remain quiet and let him figure it out. She could easily have barged into his train of thought with exclamations of "Pass and Stow, Pass and Stow!" but she restrained herself. After all, there was nothing wrong with letting poor Riley have one of his few moments of historical breakthrough, the best of which was only a few short moments away. Just then, the techie's eyes landed on the bus directly in front of them, and all the pieces fell together.

"T, I've got it!" he cried happily, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him as he leapt to his feet. "I know the clue now, so let's go find Ben and Abigail. We don't even need to wait for the kid anymore." He jogged off down the crowded street in his excitement, pulling her along with him every step of the way.

* * *

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia was simply awesome. Haley entered the building wide-eyed, not sure what she should look at first. There was just so much to see! In fact, so enraptured was she in the history surrounding them, that she scarcely noticed the familiar little boy who brushed past each of them as they came in, politely offering his apologies. But not that it made much difference. They'd be seeing him again soon enough anyway.

They split up once they were all inside. Ian went straight for the Silence Dogood letters, and Haley soon found the handwritten drafts of a speech Benjamin Franklin had delivered during the Federal Convention. It was one she had read several times before, but seeing the original paper and the original handwriting right here in front of her was quite thrilling. So when Ian finally fit the pieces of his own puzzle together and strode briskly after the child who'd just run out, Haley was oblivious.

"Haley?"

The new twenty-one-year-old jumped in surprise when she heard her name uttered right beside her, especially when the sound was accompanied by a strong hand on her arm.

"Let's go," Phil told her sternly, "we're leaving."

Genuine disappointment etched itself all over her face. "Already? But we only just got here."

"Come on," he urged again, tugging on her arm until she followed willingly.

By the time they joined the others outside, Shaw was just approaching Ian with the question of, "What's going on?"

The blonde Englishman frowned, deep in thought as he carefully observed the kid who was now on the far side of the street. "I'm not sure."

* * *

When Riley and Tori located Ben and Abigail at a local Urban Outfitters store, the latter couple had already checked out and changed into their new attire. Ben greeted them with a smile and came over, accompanied by an eager-looking Abigail.

"What's the clue?" he asked, his eyes hungry for the next step that would lead them to the Templar Treasure.

Riley proudly cleared his throat and read, "_The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow._ 'Pass and Stow,' of course, referring to…"

"The Liberty Bell," Ben and Abigail both filled in as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"Why do you have to do that?" The techie looked crushed, and Tori, although struggling hard not to smile at his plight, patted him lightly on the shoulder to offer her encouragement.

Meanwhile, the other two were busy unraveling the hidden meanings of their latest clue.

"Excuse me," Ben said at length to the lady working behind the counter, "could I see one of the hundred dollar bills I paid you with?"

She didn't even think about it. "No."

But after a little negotiating and handing over Ben's divers' watch as collateral, he obtained one of the bills and employed a bottle of water as a magnifying glass so he could see the exact time in the drawing's clock tower of Independence Hall.

"What do you see?" Abigail inquired anxiously.

"Two twenty-two."

"And what time is it now?"

"Almost three," the woman behind the counter informed them after a quick examination Ben's watch.

Abigail groaned. "We missed it."

"No, we didn't," Riley spoke up. "We didn't miss it because…" He trailed off then, a strange smile of satisfaction spreading across his face when he realized the enormity of what was happening. "You mean, you guys don't know this? _I _know something about history that _you _don't?"

"I'd be very excited to learn about it, Riley," Ben said. The younger man was indeed his best friend, but with the entire FBI after them right now, his patience was limited.

"Wait a minute, let me just take in this moment." Riley drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Wow, this is cool. Is this what you guys feel like all the time? Well, except for now, of course."

"Riley!" Abigail finally snapped, and the techie stopped goofing around.

"All right, all right! What I know," he explained slowly, "is that Daylight Savings Time wasn't established until World War One. So if it's three o'clock now, that means in 1776, it would be two o'clock."

"Riley, you're a genius!" Ben hurried past him, grinning broadly and clapping him on the shoulder as he went. Abigail and Tori followed.

"Riley, come on," the younger woman urged as he still seemed rather lost in the splendor of his own brilliance, but eventually he did join them.

"Do you know who the first person was to suggest Daylight Savings Time?"

"Benjamin Franklin!" all three of them chorused, and Riley stamped his foot in aggravation. Just like a little kid.

Tori looked back at him and smiled as they headed outdoors into the sunshine. Those last few minutes in the store had been simply priceless! No matter what might happen to them from this point on, it would all be worth it if for nothing more than to have been present for that precious Riley moment.

**Halo's A/N: **Well, that certainly was a fun chapter. Aren't Tori and Riley sweet? And yes, I really would make them cookies, and Tori really would correct Riley's grammar and/or handwriting. Lol, I think we're having way too much fun with this! See you all at the next installment!

**Tori's A/N**: Yeah, I'm sure everyone thinks Riley and I are sweet by now. I'm afraid that what she said was right. I am an English junkie, lol. I probably would "argue" with him about little things too. And I really do think that Haley would spontaneously make cookies for her favorite guys too! That is a completely "her" thing. We are having way too much fun with this! See ya guys next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by Torilei and HaloFin17. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Well, things seem to be moving along quite nicely, as **Tori **and I are already in Philadelphia. Special shout-outs to **TheBlueHour, GreenLightsaberGirl, **and **Thuraya Known **for your faithful reviewing of this fic! It means a lot to us, and I know we both appreciate it! So have fun with Chapter Six here, and **Tori**, my friend, I hope you're ready to run!

**Chapter 6**

"Is this real?"

Ian smiled. "Just tell me what you told my friend."

From where she stood back with Phil and Powell, Haley could overhear little of the conversation that passed between Ian Howe and a young Philadelphia schoolboy, but she did know she was even more impressed with how Ian had handled this situation after witnessing it in its entirety. The friendly, unassuming manner in which he'd approached the boy and how he'd offered the kid money, a lot more than Riley had been giving him, in exchange for information was sheer genius. Surely, they would never have gotten such good results from threatening the poor child.

Before long, Ian strode determinedly back over to them, a yellow post-it note stuck on his finger. "STOW," he read. "Let's go."

They all made their way over to the group's black SUV, where Powell immediately hopped online and performed a search for "STOW and Declaration of Independence."

While he was pulling up the top results, Haley leaned over to Shaw and whispered, "Can we please go to the Constitution Center while we're here?"

His blue eyes were icy cold when he turned to look at her. "No."

Haley snapped her fingers. "Oh, darn."

"But it does look like we'll be seeing the Liberty Bell," Ian informed her after reading the computer screen over Powell's shoulder.

"All right!" she exclaimed happily. "That's almost as good. Now let's go!"

* * *

Not far ahead of Ian and his gang, Ben Gates and his entourage arrived at Independence Hall. They trailed after one of the tours for a short while, until Ben suddenly veered aside and led them off in a different direction. Riley didn't notice this at first, and may very well have kept on going, had Tori not grabbed a hold of the hood from his sweater and yanked him back.

"This way, Riley."

"Oh yeah, right," he stammered back sheepishly.

They collectively stepped over a "No Admittance" sign, which filled Tori with a strange sense of mischievous glee, and traveled upward. She was typically one of the "good kids" that didn't like to break the rules. At length, they reached the top of the steeple, and Ben climbed through, helping Abigail up after him. Riley did the same with Tori, and yet again, it was with great effort that she repressed the butterflies in her stomach.

Two twenty-two arrived, and Ben carefully noted the location of the "timely shadow" before turning back to the others. "I'm going down there. You three take the Declaration and meet me in the Signing Room."

They all nodded and headed back down, but Riley still took one small moment to smirk and say, "Daylight Savings. _My _idea."

Tori laughed when she heard him and shook her head. This guy was such a riot!

* * *

As they approached the venerable Liberty Bell, Shaw and Ian seemed to be looking at everything but the Bell, hoping to spot who knew what. Haley stepped in front of them and stood on her tip-toes to see if she could catch a glimpse of the Scripture verse embedded in the Bell, but there were too many people in the way, and they were too far back. Then from behind her, she heard Ian suddenly mutter, "Idiot!"

"Who?" Shaw asked, his brow creasing in a deep frown.

"_Me_."

"What?"

"It's not here." Ian's eyes traveled upward, to the towering steeple of Independence Hall. "It's there."

And then they were off, with Haley having to jog to keep up with the brisk pace set by the two men in front of her. Despite her disappointment that they were leaving the Liberty Bell so soon, she was even more excited by the prospect of going to Independence Hall.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ian," she called after him as they went. "You're bloody brilliant! Much smarter than Gates, anyway. He just has all the luck, that's all."

Ian didn't acknowledge the compliment, and Haley truly couldn't tell if he had even heard her. He was just too darn focused! She followed him and Shaw up the flight of Forbidden Stairs, remembering with a grin that Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Tori – or 'BART,' as she had affectionately come to think of them – had also passed this way only a few short minutes ago. Which meant that the Big Chase was coming up. Haley gulped and crossed her fingers, hoping fervently that Tori was in good shape for a lot of running.

They reached the top of the steeple, and Shaw and Ian both climbed through the opening in the floor.

"Gee, thanks for the hand up, guys," Haley muttered as she pulled herself up on her own power, but once again, they didn't seem to care. Like them, she looked around anxiously, but unlike them, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the plot was still progressing as it should.

Ben Gates was gone.

* * *

"Hey!" Ben called over to Abigail, Riley, and Tori as he joined them in the Signing Room, and they all scurried over.

"What'd you score?" Riley demanded, and his friend held out a pair of strange-looking glasses that Tori knew very well, indeed. She couldn't wait to try them out herself!

"It's some sort of ocular device," Ben elaborated. "A vision to see the treasured past?"

"What do we do with them?" Riley questioned. Clearly, he was thinking too hard.

"We look through them! Here, help me with this."

Riley and Abigail unrolled the Declaration and held it with the back facing upward so Ben could examine it, yet he hesitated. And when Abigail asked him what was wrong, he replied, "It's just that the last time this was here, it was being signed."

Tori smiled. She could appreciate the historical immensity of Ben's last statement, and she knew Haley did, too; but she still had to laugh when Riley blandly remarked, "Ben, there's another tour coming." The treasure hunter nodded and put on the glasses.

"Wow," he breathed. "It's incredible."

"What do you see?" the techie asked impatiently.

"_Heere at the Wall_. _Heere_ spelled with two 'E's. Take a look."

Ben held out the glasses toward Riley, but Abigail snatched them from his grasp to look through them herself.

Riley sighed. "Why can't they just say 'go to this place and here's the treasure, spend it wisely'?" He reached for the glasses again when Abigail was finished with them, but this time it was Tori who robbed him of them. She put them on, and her jaw dropped at the myriad of colors that burst into view. This was just too cool!

"Hey," Riley protested. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to share?"

She smiled sweetly at him and replied, "Yes, but she also taught me to wait my turn."

Riley gave her the meanest look her muster while trying hard not to laugh at her quick comeback.

"Oh no," Ben muttered, sounding suddenly discouraged. The others followed his gaze out one of the side windows, and his despair was understood. Phil and Powell stood together outside Independence Hall, trying to look inconspicuous.

"They're waiting for us," Tori murmured, swallowing hard. She'd been so caught up in this fun phase of the hunt that she'd temporarily forgotten what was coming up next.

And she definitely wasn't looking forward to all of the running that now lay ahead of them.

Riley exchanged anxious glances with her. "How did they find us?"

"Ian has nearly unlimited resources. And he's smart," Ben replied as he and Abigail returned the Declaration to its case.

Tori peeked outside the window once again and remarked, "I don't see Haley. I hope she's here somewhere."

"She's probably with Ian," Ben suggested, "and we're going to split up, too. We don't want Ian to have the Declaration or the glasses, but we especially don't want him to have them both together. Riley and Abigail will take the Declaration, and Tori and I will take the empty case and the glasses. Hopefully, that'll throw them off."

Abigail nodded, stern determination in her eyes, but Tori looked very disappointed. "Do we really have to split up?"

"Yes, we do, now come on. You and I need to go first." He took her arm to lead her out, but just before they left, he turned to those they were leaving behind and admonished, "Take care of her."

"I will," Riley and Abigail both solemnly replied, and Tori couldn't help but glance back over her shoulder as they departed, stealing one last look at Riley. _Be careful,_ she pleaded wordlessly before following Ben out into the sunlight.

* * *

Shaw tapped Ian on the shoulder and pointed down at two familiar figures far below – Ben and Tori. "Look," he said, watching along with his leader as Powell and Phil fell into step behind their targets.

"Run fast, Tori-kins," Haley whispered at her friend's retreating back. Evidently, Shaw had heard _that _one.

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" he demanded, turning around to face her, but before that argument could progress any further, Ian grabbed his best friend by the arm and pointed down at the square below. Riley and Abigail had just emerged, as well.

"Shaw, look! There are the others."

"I'm on it." Haley forgotten, Shaw leapt back down into the building, pulling out his walkie-talkie to summon Viktor along the way.

When he had gone, Haley walked up beside Ian and leaned casually against the railing next to him. "So, is this how it works, then?" she surmised. "We let them do all the running around, and then you and I just happen to show up at the right moment to claim the prize?"

"Pretty much," he replied, nodding, and Haley grinned.

"Sounds good to me!"

* * *

Walking hastily behind Ben, Tori tried rather unsuccessfully to look as calm and casual as her companion.

"They're right behind us," she hissed, catching a glimpse of Phil and Powell out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't look back!" Ben hissed right back, and Tori whipped her head around, locking her eyes on the path directly in front of them.

"Okay, but they're still close, and getting closer. Can we run now?"

"No! Not yet."

They crossed a busy street then, and Tori heard the most welcome sound of a bus behind them, momentarily concealing them from view. "Now?"

"Yes, now!"

And with that, both fugitives sprinted forward, running against the flow of traffic in an attempt to hinder their pursuers. Car horns blared all around, some at them and some at Powell and Phil, whom Tori could hear shouting behind them. And their voices were getting closer. Feeling a panic start to rise within her chest, she put forth an extra burst of speed, but it still wasn't enough to keep up with Ben, whose longer legs enabled him to run considerably faster than her.

"Come on!" He grabbed her wrist and literally dragged her along after him, pausing only when they came to the graveyard Tori recognized from the movie. He frantically shoved her in through the gate before him and slammed it shut so that it locked after he himself had come through.

They ran among the tombstones toward the far side of the cemetery, and again, Tori could hear when Phil rattled the locked gate behind them in his frustration.

"Get down!" Ben yelled suddenly, and he more or less threw his young companion down over some of the headstones where she would be at least partially sheltered. He then leapt down beside her himself, nearly landing on her in the process.

Tori grunted with the impact when she landed on the hard ground. "Ow! Thanks, I think..." But she truly was grateful when Phil opened fire on them without warning, and the bullets exploded against the stone at her back. She yelped in surprise and covered her ears, even though Phil's gun was equipped with a silencer. Being shot at a second time, she realized, was absolutely no better than the first!

Just then, Powell appeared from around the corner, his gun leveled straight at them, and the runaway pair had no choice but flee the graveyard. Ben pushed Tori out the far exit, but stopped long enough to turn around and punch Powell in the face when the other man appeared after them.

The blow knocked him to the ground, and Tori exclaimed, "Nice hit, Ben!" She was far too caught up in the heat of the moment to remember that Powell was actually one of her favorite characters in the movie. He could always make her laugh!

But there was simply no time to think when Phil suddenly reappeared and began chasing them from the other direction. Ben grabbed Tori's arm again and bolted down the street, still having to drag her along so that she wouldn't fall behind. Her legs ached as they ran, and her lungs burned. How much longer could this go on?

Finally, Ben turned around the side of an old brick building and shoved her toward a ladder that led up to the top of the roof.

"Go up!" he shouted.

Tori obliged, but she still couldn't help retorting, "Why up?! Don't you people know by now that you always run out of places to go when you run up?"

Ben followed her ascent without replying, and all of a sudden, there were more bullets ricocheting against the rails around them. Phil was here. Tori shrieked again at yet another near-death experience, and it was adrenaline alone that granted her exhausted legs the strength and energy they needed to reach the top.

Ben was right behind her, and unfortunately, Phil was right behind him. Tori felt extremely grateful that she wasn't afraid of heights as they darted across the rooftops for as long as they were able, but eventually, they did hit that inevitable dead end.

"I told you we'd run out of room!" Tori looked over at Ben nervously, to which he responded with a brief nod of reassurance.

"Hey, Gates!"

Both Ben and Tori turned around to see Phil coming up behind them, his gun raised and pointed straight at them. Tori was extremely grateful when Ben stepped protectively in front of her ever so slightly.

"Enough, man," he continued, sounding every bit as winded as they were. "Just give me the document."

Ben nodded, seemingly reluctant. "Okay, Phil." He then removed the empty document case from around his shoulders and tossed it in the other man's general direction. The case slid down the tiled roof, and Phil dove after it, nearly toppling off the edge himself in the attempt.

"Don't fall!" Tori shouted after him, but Ben was already pulling her back toward their escape route. Soon they were on their way, with Powell and Phil both left far behind, but Tori's anxieties were far from over. Still gasping for air, she looked down at her watch and swallowed hard. It was about time now for Riley and Abigail's near-death experience, too.

* * *

Ian Howe set a brisk pace as he traversed the crowded streets of Philadelphia. He was in well-nigh constant communication with Shaw, as well, and as she tagged along behind him, Haley simply could not believe that those two were able to understand each other through the walkie-talkies. It all just sounded like a bunch of garbled static to her.

At length, they reached at an intersection Haley recognized from the movie, and sure enough, they had arrived just in time to see Riley Poole and Abigail Chase just barely miss being hit by an oncoming semi-truck. And left perfectly vulnerable in the middle of the cross-walk was the real Declaration of Independence.

Ian bent to pick up the document case, smirking in satisfaction while Abigail and Riley both glared daggers at him. But there was nothing they could do, especially when a shout was heard from behind them, and Shaw and Viktor came running up, both breathless but ready to continue the chase.

"Leave them!" Ian called, putting an end to their efforts as Riley and Abigail stood up from the ground, the techie beginning to lead her away. "Let them go –we've got it."

But as he was running away with Abigail, Riley had thrown a dark and distrusting glance back at Haley, whom he had no doubt recognized from _The Charlotte. _And while she hated to be on Riley's bad side, for Tori's sake, Haley couldn't really blame him for it. After all, here she had been presented with a golden opportunity to "escape" while Ian's attention had been so focused on the Declaration. Even after Shaw and Viktor had showed up, she still could have run off with the other two, as her legs were fresh, and she felt confident she could have outrun them for as long a time as was necessary to get away.

And yet she had not. Instead, she had just stood there watching and done nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Come on," Ian was saying as his followers gathered around him. "Let's find Powell and Phil and then figure out what we need to do from here."

Haley roused herself from her reflections and remarked to Ian with a chuckle, "See, isn't this just like I was saying? They ran all over Philadelphia for you, and yet _you _were the one who picked up the Declaration. Kinda funny, isn't it?"

A very winded and very sweaty Viktor only glared at her. Apparently, _he _didn't think it was that funny.

**Tori's Author's Note**: Hmm, I guess I'm the only one who's leaving an author's note this time. Yeah, I'm pretty envious of Haley right now for the fact that she had to do no running what-so-ever, and I was being dragged along and being shoved around everywhere by Ben. Not my idea of a fun time, let me tell you. It doesn't really seem to be too fair, does it, lol? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks, guys, your reviews are appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N:** Wow, I guess we really are over halfway through the movie now, aren't we? Come to think of it, we're about halfway through the fic, too.Big Thank You's to all you wonderful reviewers for the last chapter: **TheBlueHour, daisyduke80, Thuraya Known, Miss Fenway, GreenLightsaberGirl, **and **Anna**. You guys are the best!! And in response to **daisyduke's** "suggestions"…all I can really say at this point, my friend, is that I suggest you stick around with us for the long haul, cause you might not be too disappointed. Also, as a note to my dear friend **Tori**, I'm afraid her troubles are far from over. If you thought you felt sorry for her after the last chapter, with all that running around, well…just wait. From where I'm standing at this point, it really is better to be with Ian and Co, lol. Enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Ben and Tori hurried along, trying to stay out of the open and anxious to reunite with Abigail and Riley. Tori actually wondered if maybe she wasn't more concerned for Riley than Ben was. And she had even seen the movie – practically had the whole thing memorized! But what if maybe, just maybe, things with the truck hadn't gone exactly as they were supposed to this time?

Her worry for Riley, coupled with the lingering anxiety of being chased by two men with guns, made her almost want to cry with relief when Ben's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered the call, and judging from his evident frustration immediately thereafter, Tori could tell Riley had just dropped the bomb about how he and Abigail had lost the Declaration to Ian. But at least they were both still alive and well.

"Let me talk to him!" She reached up and tried to take the phone away from Ben like she had done with Riley back on the night of the heist, but Ben was much taller than her, and it was a losing battle on her end.

The treasure hunter instructed his friend to meet them at the car and hung up.

"Dang it," Tori muttered under her breath with a snap of her fingers. She had really wanted to talk to Riley! But then she gulped as they neared the vehicle and began looking around nervously.

_Well, _she thought to herself as she tried to remain optimistic in a situation that clearly wasn't, _I guess I'm about to find out what it's like to be arrested._

"Hello, Mr. Gates."

Ben and Tori both stopped in their tracks and turned to see Agent Peter Sadusky of the FBI. Naturally, Tori was not surprised to see him in the least, but Ben looked absolutely crestfallen. He didn't offer the slightest resistance when two more agents appeared out of a nearby coffee shop, shoved him roughly against the side of his father's car, and handcuffed him.

Tori received similar treatment, though considerably gentler, as Benjamin Gates was the primary suspect here. At Agent Hendricks' order, she was pushed down into a police car without much of a second thought. She wasn't even searched that thoroughly and much to her disbelief, _still_ had her cell phone. Surely, this had to be some sort of a miracle! Either that, or Agent Hendricks was even more incompetent than she'd ever imagined. No wonder she'd never liked that guy…

But just as she was being shoved unceremoniously into the back seat of the vehicle, Tori caught a glimpse of Abigail and Riley rounding a street corner in front of her. The two who still had their freedom turned around at once and made a quick escape, but Riley caught sight of Tori, and just before he disappeared back around the corner, he sent a small wave of his hand in her direction.

Tori smiled sadly as she watched him go, and in her helplessness, suddenly felt the need to choke back tears. _Bye, Riley…_

* * *

It had taken longer than Ian would have liked for the rest of them to locate Phil and Powell, the latter of whom was still nursing a swollen nose and a bruised cheek from where Ben had struck him, but soon enough they were back at the cars and ready to move onward. Just then, Ian's cell phone rang, and Haley had a pretty strong suspicion of who was calling.

"Hello? Why, Riley, what a pleasant surprise. Oh, really? I am sorry to hear that. Yes, put her on." A self-satisfied smirk spread across the Englishman's face as the conversation continued, which Haley noted didn't subtract at all from the handsomeness of his features, and he began to pace while Abigail spoke.

"Done," he agreed at last. "I'll take care of everything, and we'll be in touch."

He hung up, and Shaw immediately asked, "What was that all about?"

Ian grinned as he explained, "Gates and Haley's young friend have both been captured by the FBI. Riley and Dr. Chase would like us to rescue them from their custody, and in exchange – the treasure is all ours."

Shaw laughed, and clapped his old friend on the shoulder. "Excellent! This shouldn't be too difficult at all, compared to some of the other jobs we've pulled. So what's the plan?"

"And Tori will be included in this plan, right?" Haley prompted.

"Of course she will," Ian assured her, then gathered all five them around him on one side of the SUV. He lowered his voice. "All right, so here's what we're going to do."

* * *

Within the past hour, Tori had developed a new loathing for handcuffs. They were what kept her and Ben tied down to this desk right now, and she hated the fact that she couldn't even scratch her nose without it being a struggle of epic proportions.

Agent Sadusky started talking to Ben about the Declaration, the treasure, and various "doors" that somehow all led to prison. And since Tori already knew this speech practically by heart, she instead directed her attention over to Agent Hendricks, who sat back behind Sadusky. Her aversion to the man was even stronger than usual now, and so she glared at him without ceasing, putting every ounce of hatred she possessed, which wasn't much, into the look.

The young agent didn't seem to notice at first, but before long, even he couldn't miss the pair of hazel eyes that bore into him like daggers. He tried to ignore it, but the girl was relentless, and soon he began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Even when he tried to carry on with his work as though nothing strange was happening, he was clearly flustered and distracted. Finally, he snapped.

"Stop looking at me!" Hendricks was on his feet now, staring back at her, but Tori remained undaunted. "Blink already, will you! What did I ever do to you, huh? Now stop staring at me!"

"Agent Hendricks, calm down!" Sadusky snapped while Tori tried to hold back a laugh. "What's gotten into you? Now, I want you to leave the poor girl alone and get yourself back under control at once."

The head agent looked ready to continue with his verbal lashing, but Hendricks was saved from any further abuse when Ben's phone suddenly rang. The other agents all jumped at the sound and within seconds, were ready to trace the source of the call. When all was in place, Sadusky nodded, and Ben picked up his phone.

"Hello? I'm chained to a desk, but thanks for asking."

Even Tori tore her baleful eyes away from Agent Hendricks then and tried to listen in on the call herself. It was Ian, and the conversation taking place here was vital to the rest of the movie. She crossed her fingers and prayed everything would go as planned; with the exception, of course, that she herself would also be included in Ian's brilliant rescue scheme. She needn't have worried.

Ben soon hung up, and the agents all now looked uncharacteristically anxious. Ian must have mentioned sending the Declaration back as a box of confetti. It was then explained to her, as though she didn't already know, that she and Ben were to meet Ian on the flight deck of the _US Intrepid _in New York City, tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Tori nodded and began at that moment to mentally prepare herself. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Ian returned shortly after making his phone call to Ben, and soon Viktor had been sent off in the SUV on a "special errand" while the others were left to cram into the sedan for their road trip to New York City. Haley had never been there before, so she was looking forward to it, especially since they would be primarily visiting the more historical parts of the city and Tori had told her all about her own visit there when they were back at home.

And so they were on their way, with Phil driving, Ian seated up front, and Haley squished in the back between Powell and Shaw. It was late in the afternoon now, and the sun was sinking in the sky behind them as they drove eastward. Ian had called ahead to reserve a hotel suite for them, but no one had spoken since.

"So," Haley said at last, trying to casually break the silence, "do you guys not believe in music, or what? Cause it's really quiet back here, and it was on the way over from DC, too. Or is it that you all just have such different tastes that it's impossible to agree on something? I already know from personal experience that Viktor's musical tastes don't exactly line up with my own."

Ian turned his head slightly to look back at her and simply stated, "Silence is golden." With that, he leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes.

"Or I suppose I could take a nap," Haley whispered to herself. It _had _been a long day, after all, and no doubt they were all tired by now. She looked on either side of her, and sure enough, Shaw was already nodding off on her left, and on her right, Powell was staring vacantly out the window. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder to rouse him from his sleepy reverie.

"Huh?"

"Powell, can I please use your shoulder as a pillow?"

The Scotsman blinked, taken aback by the nature of the question, but an amused smile slowly played across his lips. "Why?"

"Well, if I ask first, then it won't be so awkward when my head accidentally hits your shoulder," she explained.

"Okay, but why me?"

Haley stared at Powell, then over at the sleeping Shaw, and back at Powell again. Her eyes begged the question, "Does this seriously even need answering?"

He chuckled, understanding, and gave in. "All right, go ahead. If my jacket wasn't off limits, I suppose my shoulder isn't, either."

"Thank you!" Haley grinned and rested her head contentedly against his shoulder. She could already feel herself dozing off in the utter silence of the vehicle, but before she fell asleep, she noticed that Phil seemed to keep glancing back in the rearview mirror a lot more often than was necessary for simple highway driving. She had no idea what he could have possibly found so fascinating.

* * *

Had the circumstances been different, Tori probably would have enjoyed her first helicopter ride, but as it was, she was a prisoner in FBI custody being transported under guard from Philadelphia to New York City. And she was still handcuffed. At this point, it was safe to say she was _not _having very much fun. She had wanted to go to New York City again, but not in this manner. She and Ben were put up in a small room together for the night – their temporary cell, Tori imagined. And indeed, there wasn't much to be found in the place, save for two rigid-looking cots, a small nightstand, and a few extra blankets.

Agent Sadusky was the last person to speak to them before they were locked away. He saw to it that they were given some food and suggested that they get a good night's sleep. They would be given their instructions in the morning, prior to their scheduled meeting with Ian. Then he left, and they were alone.

"Well, this looks cozy," Tori observed. She sat down on one of the cots and much to her dismay, found that it felt every bit as uncomfortable as it looked. She winced, thinking she would much rather fall asleep against Riley again. He had been surprisingly comfortable the night before, even if she had unwittingly put his legs to sleep.

Ben tried to stay positive and handed her one of the plates of food. "At least they fed us."

Tori inspected the food closely and prodded at it a little with her fork. "What is it?"

"Chicken, I think." He took a bite. "Or, at least it tastes like chicken."

"Ben, everything tastes like chicken. Didn't you watch _The Lion King_ when you were little?" Tori's appetite was not exactly improving as she poked the meat-like substance a little harder. At least it didn't jiggle.

"Come on, Tori, you should eat it," Ben admonished her. "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and who knows how long it'll be before we have the chance to eat or sleep again."

"I just hope we don't end up in prison."

He laughed. "Me, too! I knew it would probably happen ever since I decided to steal the Declaration, but I'm still hoping maybe we can turn things around for the better, and I can avoid being locked away for the rest of my life."

"What about me?"

Ben frowned, deep in thought, and studied her closely. "You know, I'm not sure what they'd do with you. You technically didn't steal the Declaration or do anything else overly illegal. How old are you, anyway?"

"Seventeen."

"Hmm. Well, that complicates things even more. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, and hope for the best."

"Thanks, Ben." Tori nodded and grudgingly forked a bite of her meal. It did indeed taste like chicken, and she had to admit it tasted better than it looked, though it definitely wasn't something that she would eat by choice. Taking Ben's advice, she ate as much as she could, but by now, her stomach was more than a little upset, and she didn't eat too much of her "chicken." Unlike Ben, she knew exactly what lay ahead of them in the coming day, and the prospect of jumping off that huge ship was no longer nearly as exciting as she'd once thought it might be now that she was actually going to do it.

"You know," Ben commented after they'd finished eating, "during the Revolutionary War, a 'Tory' was actually someone who supported the British."

Tori grinned – she knew where this was heading. And not only was she immensely grateful for the distraction, she was actually feeling quite confident about jumping headlong into an in-depth historical discussion with Benjamin Franklin Gates. It looked like that AP American History class she took the year before was going to be useful for something after all!

So the evening wore on, and the two of them discussed everything from the Free Masons, to states' rights, to FDR and the New Deal, and to one of her favorite topics about how the Civil War under Lincoln wasn't intended to free the slaves but was a way to keep the Union together. After that, they moved on to common myths in history and even almost stupid but entertaining facts, some that Tori didn't even know. After that, she told the treasure hunter about a video she had made for her AP History class where she played Eleanor Roosevelt and turned her into a superhero where she and FDR fought against the evil villains, Stalin and Hitler, and taught him the song that her friend made up that made fun of the KKK. It didn't take him long to learn it, and they were laughing for a good ten minutes about her ridiculous video. But the time flew by, and finally, Ben looked at his watch.

"It's getting late," he said, though he was obviously reluctant to terminate such a stimulating conversation. "We should probably get some sleep now. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Tori chuckled as he finished speaking and muttered under her breath, "Oh, you have no idea."

"What was that?"

"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all."

"Oh, okay, then. Goodnight, Tori."

"Goodnight, Ben."

**Halo's A/N: **And so there you have it. A bit shorter than the other chapters, perhaps, but hopefully still a good one. And don't you really feel sorry for Tori now? Being separated from her dear friend Riley! Oh, I know, I shouldn't rub it in. My time will come…

**Tori's A/N**: Yeah, I'm not too good in a position right now, am I? But I got to stare down Hendricks, which has been one of my many goals in life now accomplished, lol. It sucks being arrested, but it was fun having a historical conversation with Ben. And yes, that video is real! I really did make it for my AP History class, and you can find it on youtube. Search "Frozensquirrel" (that's my friend youtube page) and the video is called something along the lines of "Stalin and Hitler Unite" or something. I don't remember exactly, but the names Hitler and Stalin are in the title. Let me know if any of you watch it! And yeah, I'm separated from my best friend Riley. But when it said I almost cried after I saw him wave at me, I actually felt like crying after I read through it to edit! Dang, Halo. But don't worry. Her time is coming…


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Greetings, everyone, and today we bring you another chapter! Hopefully you're as excited as we are, lol. Our enthusiastic thanks goes out to **broadwaylover07, daisyduke80, Thuraya Known, barrelracer1415, **and **Miss Fenway** for all of your very encouraging reviews! I'm so indescribably glad to hear that you guys have definitely caught on to the whole spirit of this fic, with us acknowledging the utter silliness of the idea right from the start and trying rather unsuccessfully not to get too involved in the plot. And that'll only get worse as time goes on, trust me. Apparently, we both just have issues with keeping our mouths shut. And as for those of you anxious for more Riley/Tori, well…all I can really say at this point is "please be patient." Lol, That poor girl's still at kind of a "low point" in the scheme of things right now. So, let's rejoin the action!

**Chapter 8**

It was after seven o'clock in the evening when Phil finally stopped the car in New York City. They checked into their hotel, and when all that was settled, Ian took them to a nice steak and seafood restaurant for dinner. As they drove to the restaurant, Haley found herself worrying about Tori. Hopefully she was getting something to eat, too, and Sadusky was at least taking decent care of her and Ben.

Her own dinner couldn't have been better. It had been a long time since she'd had a steak this good, and Powell had even split a rack of ribs with her. Shaw had ordered ribs as well, but he was wholeheartedly determined _not_ to share. While they ate, they spoke more in hushed tones about their plan for the coming day.

"Can I come along this time?" Haley asked suddenly. "Please?"

Ian pushed aside his plate of lobster and studied her a minute from across the table. "Convince me."

"Well," she began after a moment's thought, "Shaw and I could go as a 'couple' to find Ben, which won't look nearly as suspicious just in case the FBI do see us or get pictures of who's around Gates at the time the helicopter flies over. Besides, Tori isn't necessarily afraid of heights, but if she's really going to have to jump off that boat, I get the feeling she could still use the moral support of having someone she knows close by. After all, you wouldn't want her freezing up there at the last minute, would you?"

Ian indulged her case with a small smile and nodded. "All right, you've convinced me. You can go, just don't get in the way."

"Thank you! And don't worry, I won't."

Just then, dessert arrived, and Haley didn't know how she would ever be able to eat the monstrous piece of chocolate cake that was placed in front of her. But somehow she managed, as she knew she would, and it was delicious. She ate around the heaps of frosting, though, having never really cared for the stuff even since she was a kid. However, it would seem others did not necessarily share her opinion.

"Are you bloody mental?" Shaw was staring at her, looking wide-eyed and completely horrified.

Haley looked up at him, utterly confused. "Huh?"

"Why aren't you eating that?" He pointed at the mounds of frosting, and she shrugged.

"I just don't want it."

"Don't want it?" Shaw echoed in disbelief, but then his blue eyes hardened. "If you don't want it because it's 'too many calories,' I swear I will personally shove it down your throat."

Haley's eyes went wide. Had she heard it from anyone else, she probably would have laughed it off as a joke; but this was Shaw talking here, and he looked absolutely serious. She needed to defend herself, and fast!

"No really, it's not that! I just don't like the frosting – honest. I've never liked it, and Tori could testify to that herself if she was here. I'll even order another piece and eat it if that'll make you feel better, Shaw, but I'm still not gonna eat the frosting."

He shook his head, still plainly disgusted, but waved away her offer. "Nah, don't bother. I'll just have to take your word for it, I guess."

Ian chuckled and finally chose to intervene. "Why are you giving her such a hard time, Shaw?"

The other Brit rolled his eyes and gestured over in Haley's general direction. "Because she doesn't need to be worried about calories and dieting and all that nonsense. I mean, just look at her!"

Until now, Haley had been squirming uncomfortably throughout their entire conversation, but when she heard that last line, she just couldn't contain a smug grin.

"Did I hear you wrong, Shaw," she half-teased him, "or was that some strange sort of compliment in disguise?"

Shaw met her gaze, and his eyes narrowed. "You heard wrong."

"Well fine, then, thanks a lot!"

"Leave her alone, man, come on." It was Phil who bravely addressed Shaw on her behalf, taking all them by surprise. He typically didn't say a whole lot, which made it all the more special.

"Why, thank you, Phil." Haley was truly touched by his gesture of goodwill, and so she offered to repay him in the best way she could think of in the present situation. "Here – would you like my frosting?"

Phil chuckled a little and shook his head, suddenly appearing a bit embarrassed. "Um, no thanks."

"You sure? Okay, suit yourself. So then do any of you other sugar junkies _besides _Shaw want it?"

"Hey!" Shaw looked crestfallen, but Powell immediately jumped all over the offer.

"I'll take it!" he exclaimed, raising his hand.

Haley freely handed him her plate and grinned. He had eaten the most of her cookies the day before, too.

* * *

They stayed at the restaurant about half an hour longer before returning to the hotel, where Haley occupied herself briefly by rummaging through all the drawers in hopes of finding something entertaining left behind by a previous guest. And sure enough, she hit pay-dirt.

"Hey, cards!" She held the deck aloft triumphantly. "Anybody want to play poker or Egyptian Rat Slap?"

"What's Egyptian Rat Slap?" Shaw sounded intrigued, and Haley grinned as she sat down at one of the small tables to shuffle.

"Come on, I'll teach you. It's a lot of fun, and I think you, Shaw, will especially like it because you get to hit people."

She definitely had his attention now. He sat beside her at the table, and Powell and Phil, for lack of anything better to do, joined them. Ian, however, wanted nothing to do with it at this time. While the rest of them were already well-prepared for tomorrow's little escapade, he still had a few rough ends to smooth out before he would even consider recreation.

He did cast an incredulous glance or two their way every now and then and shake his head as Haley taught them on the far side of the room, and the game grew rather rambunctious. For her own part, Haley's quick reflexes rendered her quite good at this game, but it wasn't long before her male companions were getting a little too aggressive even for her liking. By the time they reached the end, and it was just her and Shaw left, her hands were throbbing from being hit so many times. And so after a long and very nearly bloody struggle, she finally gave up and let Shaw win.

Next, they played BS, a game which Haley failed at rather miserably. Shaw, however, seemed to be a natural at it, which came as little surprise to her. He also possessed an uncanny ability of being able to tell when any of the rest of them were lying, and even though Powell and Phil both put up a pretty good fight, it was only a matter of time before he had won that game, too.

But finally, they decided they'd better quiet down and start turning in for the night, or else Ian was liable to come personally beat all of their heads in himself. Haley saw that the bathroom was vacant and opted to take a shower before bed while the guys made sure they had everything laid out and ready for tomorrow. While walking past Phil's pile of diving equipment, the brunette noticed that it included_ two _extra breathing masks rather than one, and she nodded curtly in satisfaction. For if Tori made the jump off the ship, only to find that Phil hadn't brought an extra breathing mask, it would be about the worst situation imaginable.

She walked into the bathroom, shut the door behind her, and promptly let out a scream that would have made even the Joker's blood run cold. She came flying out of the room, looking positively frantic, and bumped into the four men who had simultaneous rushed to gather around the bathroom door at the sound of her terrified cry. Ian looked slightly annoyed, but curious; Powell simply looked amused, and Phil wore a look of genuine concern on his dark face. Shaw already had his gun drawn and looked set to kill.

So naturally, Haley jumped behind him and began pushing him toward the bathroom door, all the while shouting, "Kill him, kill him! He's big and hairy, kill him!"

The others looked not a little confused, but Shaw marched forward into the bathroom, his gun raised, and looked around. "Where is he? I don't see anyone."

"He's in the bathtub!" Haley yelled back at him from behind Phil, where she was now seeking refuge.

Shaw took a few cautious steps forward, pushed aside the shower curtain, and froze. When he finally turned back to them, his expression was one of utter disgust. "It's a spider."

"Yes – and he's big and hairy. Shoot him, Shaw, shoot him!"

The bald Brit was incredulous. "You want me to waste a perfectly good bullet on a _spider_?"

"If that's what it takes to kill him…Yes!"

"Oh, good grief." Ian rolled his eyes, and Powell breathed a sigh of relief.

"At least she wasn't talking about one of us," he remarked to no one in particular.

Just then, Shaw emerged from the bathroom. "There, I got him with a tissue – is that good enough?"

Haley nodded and began to move away from Phil, when suddenly Shaw shook his hand wildly and exclaimed, "Oh, no, I missed him! He's on my hand!" He then flung the imaginary spider toward Haley, who let out another shriek and ducked back behind Phil, clutching onto his arm.

Shaw nearly doubled over from laughing so hard. "Oh, it's too easy! You girls are all such sissies."

But at last, he and the others walked away to return to their work, and Haley was left still holding onto Phil for dear life.

"Um, you can let go of my arm, now," he told her after a moment had passed and she still hadn't released him. "You've got a pretty strong grip there."

"Oh. Sorry about that." She let go but still looked up at him nervously. "I'm kinda worried again, now. Do you think he really killed it?"

Phil nodded. "Yeah, I think you're okay. But if you find any more, you'd better come get me to kill them – just to be safe."

"Thanks," she giggled, knowing that she would much rather go to Phil than to Shaw if there was another spider so there wouldn't be any more "I missed him!" jokes. "I'll remember that."

* * *

Tori tossed and turned and lay still. Then she tossed and turned and lay still again. The whole night had been like this: an ongoing struggle of not being able to fall asleep. She kept squirming around in an attempt to get comfortable, but every time, just when she thought she was all set, she would have to move again.

She fervently hoped her tossing and turning wasn't keeping Ben awake, seeing as how they _did _have a big day ahead of them tomorrow, but he seemed to still be sound asleep on the far side of the room. Lucky him…

"Well, I guess that means _one _of us is getting a good night's sleep," she muttered under her breath. If only Ben knew what the two of them were in for tomorrow, _then _he might not find it so easy to sleep! For her own part, she was worried about it. _Very _worried now that there was nothing to do but lay awake wide-eyed and think about it. And she missed Riley.

Tori retrieved her cell phone from deep in her pocked and glared at the thing. Why couldn't it work in this stupid world, too? She would've given anything to be able to talk to Riley, even though he was probably fast asleep right now, too. Oh, was there no one in the world who could empathize? Well, actually, there was one person, and this blasted cell phone was thankfully good enough for that. And so, she began to text.

"_Hey, Halo. You awake?"_

"_Yeah, I just got out of the shower. Where are you?"_

"_I'm in jail. U?"_

"_In a hotel w/ everybody except Viktor."_

"_He's probably off getting Patrick right now. Poor Patrick. I still like him a lot!"_

"_Well, you'll be seeing him soon enough. But I can't believe you still have your cell phone!"_

"_Yep. I guess they were so focused on Ben that I must have escaped their notice."_

"_Lol. So has Hendricks improved on closer acquaintance?"_

"_Ugh, he's such a jerk, I can't stand that guy!"_

"_OK, I'll take that as a 'no'. So what's up? Can't sleep?"_

"_No. I'm nervous about tomorrow."_

"_You mean jumping off the boat? I thought you'd be excited to do that."_

"_I was at first, and I suppose it's still better than being almost run over by a truck. But now I'm just scared."_

"_Don't worry about it, Tori. You'll be fine, I promise! Remember, Ben will be right there w/ u, and Phil's got an extra breathing mask ready for you."_

"_That's good to know!"_

"_Ian's even letting me come, too, so I'll be there for u. And if all else fails, remember Riley's waiting for U 2 (insert winking smiley face)._

"_Lol, that's right! Thx, Halo, I needed that, and I do feel better now."_

"_Good! And no problem – what are friends for? Now get some sleep. I'll see ya tomorrow. Luv you!"_

"_Luv U2! Bye!" _

Tori put her phone away and sighed, now feeling very calm and sleepy. Once Haley had mentioned that Riley would be waiting for her after the whole boat ordeal, the world had suddenly seemed a better place. Besides, if she was going to jump to her possible death the following morning, she might as well be well-rested for it.

She closed her eyes, smiling contentedly, and soon her steady breathing mirrored that of Ben's across the room as they both slept.

* * *

Haley concealed her phone once again and slipped back out into the main area of their hotel suite. Thankfully, Tori had impeccable timing when it came to their texting back and forth. She began looking around for a comfy chair or some far corner of the floor where she could sleep, as yet again Ian and Shaw were confiscating the suite's two bedrooms.

Powell and Phil were already bedding themselves in for the night as well, but when Haley observed their sleeping arrangements, she noticed something strange and frowned.

"Who's sleeping on the couch?"

"You are," Powell said, smiling as he handed her an extra pillow.

A genuine grin all but exploded across Haley's face. "Really? You mean it?"

"I couldn't help noticing last night that you weren't exactly comfortable sleeping on a chair, and since Viktor's not here tonight, the couch is yours."

She gave Powell a quick hug. "Aw, thank you. You guys are the best!"

"Don't mention it. Yes, you're welcome to use my coat for a blanket again, and…" His voice dropped suddenly, and he leaned in closer to speak into her ear. "You can also keep texting with your friend, if you like. But _only _your friend – no one else."

Haley's eyes widened, and her mouth felt dry. When did he ever get to notice that? "Oh, so you know about that, huh? Don't worry, I've only been talking to her. Here, you can even see for yourself…"

"I already did."

"Oh." Now there was a horrible sinking sensation in the bottom of her stomach. This was not good! What if he had figured out that she and Tori knew what was going on everywhere, and what was going to happen tomorrow?

"You two sure have some pretty strange conversations."

Haley chuckled nervously. This was much too close for comfort, but he didn't seem to have quite figured it out quite yet. Thank goodness! "Well, what can I say? We're girls, after all, so don't worry – you aren't supposed to understand. But does this mean you're gonna tell Ian now?"

He regarded her closely for a minute before slowly replying, "No, I think you're trustworthy. Just don't be telling your friend too much, all right?"

"Deal." Haley nodded her head and even shook his hand to seal the agreement.

"Good. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow will probably be a long day."

Haley feigned a yawn and breathed, "Oh, you have no idea…"

* * *

Getting to sleep that night was so much easier than the last. Not only did it make a huge difference sleeping on the couch instead of a chair, as Powell had suggested, but it also helped that Viktor wasn't there to keep her awake with all his snoring. Powell was actually snoring softly, but she didn't mind. She probably couldn't have even heard him over Viktor last night. And there was nothing to be heard from Phil, who had settled into a chair on her other side.

But nevertheless, she still woke up once in the middle of the night, and this time, she was thirsty. She lay awake for a while, debating if it was really worth compromising her current comfortable position, but thirst finally won out, and she had to get up. She yawned, still only half awake, and swung her legs over the side of the couch; but when her feet hit the floor, they landed on something soft and warm. And moving.

"Ouch!"

Understandably startled, Haley yelped, tripped over the previously sleeping figure, and landed in a frazzled heap right on top of…

"Phil!"

He sat up with a groan, and Haley pushed herself off his shoulders to do the same, breathing hard while her heart raced wildly from the surprise of it all. She was thankful that he couldn't see the possible color that could have been rising in her cheeks in the dark due to the embarrassment of the situation…

"Oh my gosh, Phil, are you all right? I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were there!"

"It's okay," he said, gently fingering the spot where her elbow had collided with his temple. "I'm fine. I just needed to stretch out a little. Sorry I scared you."

"No, it's all right. I'm good." She took a deep, shaky breath to calm her pounding heart. "But are you sure you don't want the couch?"

Phil opened his mouth to reply, most likely to decline the offer, but the poor fellow never got the chance.

"What the bloody hell is going on out here?"

Both Phil and Haley jumped and whipped their heads around to see Shaw standing in the doorway of his bedroom, looking none too pleased that his sleep had been disturbed.

He took in the scene before him, and when neither of them offered an explanation, said, "Is there another spider somewhere? Or do you two just need someplace to be alone?"

Phil immediately flushed, and his eyes shot downward to the ground. Haley just stared back at Shaw in horror for one agonizing minute, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. But then she realized with a silent curse that she was still practically sitting on Phil's lap. The color rose in her own face as she hurriedly jumped back up onto the couch and muttered something about not being thirsty anymore.

Shaw smirked and chuckled, but his teasing gaze was directed primarily at his friend still on the floor.

"Shut up," Phil growled, mimicking Shaw's British accent to perfection and tossing a pillow at the other man. Shaw caught it and threw it back.

"Well, whatever you're doing, keep it down out here, will you? _Some _of us are trying to sleep." He returned to his room then, and all was silent.

Haley lay unmoving on the couch with her back toward Phil, her cheeks burning as she listened to him get resituated. How humiliating! The only meager consolation about the whole affair was that apparently Shaw really was a light sleeper, just like she'd made him out to be in one of her fanfics. But she would still have to find some way to get back at him for this later, as well as for the whole spider incident. And she knew just the thing.

**Author's End Note**: Just an FYI, that part about the frosting was actually based on a real personal experience. It just wasn't as traumatizing in real life since Shaw wasn't there, lol. But yes, it's true: Halo cannot stand cake frosting. Or spiders, lol. Once again, my sincerest apologies to **Tori** that there wasn't a whole lot of her in this chapter, but I'm afraid there just wasn't much going on with her and Ben in jail that night. Thanks for understanding, Tori-kins, you're the best! But I daresay she's had plenty of opportunities to "get back" at me in this rather humiliating chapter for some of the little things I did to her earlier on, lol, and there'll be many more to come. Help me, I'm scared.

**Tori's End Note**: I think I've told you one already that you should be afraid of me, Halo, lol. I know how you can't stand cake frosting, and even I don't like to eat too much of it. But it was a lot more traumatizing for you with Shaw there, I bet, lol. Oh, and poor Halo with the spider! I can empathize, believe me. I hate spiders too! Also, thanks for the Joker reference! You know I love the guy, lol! And I did kinda get back at you in this chapter, but it wasn't too bad. I think Shaw got back at you worse than I did, lol. So, he's definitely on my friendly list now since he seems to be helping me out! All right, guys! Thanks for reading! Also, we're gonna be updating chapters nine and ten too for you guys to enjoy over the long weekend, so feel free to review as much as you want!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Hello, everybody, and here we are, back again with yet another chapter. If you're wondering what the sudden increase in updates is all about, I suppose that's because it's **Tori's **and my way of celebrating that fact that, on our end, this story is finished! So you guys needn't have any worry at all about this fic being abandoned or unfinished. Special shout-outs to our dear reviewers in advance since we haven't given you a chance to review the last chapter, yet, so I speak for both of us when I say thank you so, so much! And so here's Chapter Nine – yet another one Tori and I both had a lot of fun with, lol. Enjoy!

**Chapter 9**

Tori followed Ben onto the flight deck of the _US Intrepid_ and wished she could be more like her companion. Nicholas Cage must have really been a good actor, because outwardly, he appeared as calm and collected as though he were taking a stroll along the beach somewhere in the Bahamas. No wonder her close friend Ashley liked him so much because personally, she felt like she was about to puke. The happy feeling she'd experienced before falling asleep the night before had vanished rapidly once she woke up and Sadusky came to collect them.

It seemed like such a normal, pleasant day as tourists milled about them and troops of Boy Scouts marched past, but Tori knew that somewhere close by were several undercover FBI agents. As were Shaw and Powell. And while she would definitely have preferred Riley in this situation, having Ben here with her was far superior to being alone.

"Agent Sadusky, I hope your agents are all under four feet tall and wearing little scarves, otherwise Ian's going to know they're here," Ben was saying discreetly into the microphone that had been strapped on him. Tori didn't have one; apparently, they hadn't thought her worthy of it.

Sadusky said something then, to which Ben replied, "You know, there's something I've noticed about fishing: it never works out so well for the bait."

The "bait" continued along the flight deck without incident, and Tori followed Ben's example when he stopped to pretend he was sight-seeing like everyone else. Which meant Powell was close by, and Shaw would be showing up any minute.

"Hello, Ben."

Speak of the devil. Ben glanced briefly over at Shaw before looking forward again. Tori grinned broadly when she saw Haley next to Ian's right-hand man, both of them posing as tourists. Haley smiled back, but the younger girl had to conceal most of her joy for fear of giving them all away.

Shaw continued, "Thomas Edison only needed one way to make a light-bulb – sound familiar?"

The helicopter in Ian's hire flew over then, and in the chaos that followed, Shaw yelled his instructions to Ben. Tori could hardly hear a word of it, but she didn't need to. She already knew what she had to do. In all too short a time, the helicopter flew away from the area at the command of the FBI, and when Shaw and Haley moved on, Ben and Tori were on their own with an incredibly daunting task ahead of them.

* * *

Haley and Shaw hurried away from the scene, picking up Powell along the way. As they went, Haley was exacting her just revenge against Shaw.

"Why are you holding my hand?" he growled in extreme annoyance, but he didn't dare risk making a scene while they were still in broad view of the public.

Haley smirked. "Because you and I are a 'couple,' remember? And besides, after your little _comment _last night, I think I deserve the chance to humiliate you in turn."

Shaw rolled his eyes and decided to just put up with it, but Powell was listening to them with great interest.

"What 'comment' are you talking about?" he asked curiously. "That thing at the restaurant with the cake frosting?"

"No," Haley replied grimly, but when she wouldn't supply any further information, Shaw was only too happy to step in.

"Something woke me up in the middle of the night when we were at the hotel yesterday; so I went out to where you all were sleeping to see if anything was wrong, and I ended up walking in on her and Phil all over each other on the floor. It was only right to give them some privacy."

"I _stepped_ on him!" Haley shrieked, trying with small success to keep her protests at a minimal volume. "Honestly, Powell, I got up to get a glass of water, but I didn't know Phil was sleeping on the floor, so I accidentally stepped on him."

"And then…" Shaw prompted, grinning at he embarrassment.

"And _then_, I tripped and fell on top of him. Then Shaw burst in and totally got the wrong idea, but I swear, it's not like he makes it sound! Come on, Powell, you've gotta believe me!"

"Oh, I believe you," he assured her, but there was the smallest smile on his lips and the barest twinkle in his eye that said he still found the whole affair terribly amusing. "I just wish I hadn't slept through the entire thing."

Exasperated beyond measure, Haley dropped Shaw's hand in disgust and marched out a few feet in front of him and Powell. They were out of sight of the _Intrepid _anyway.

* * *

Once again, Tori followed Ben across the ship's flight deck, keeping as close to him as she possibly could without knocking them both over. She was so not ready for this! Haley had given her a big smile and a thumbs-up as last-minute encouragement when she and Shaw had left them, and as much Tori appreciated it, it didn't seem to be of much help right now.

They arrived at the observation deck, and Tori froze, rooted in place a few feet back while Ben paced anxiously. She hadn't realized how incredibly high up they were! There was no way she could even walk over by the railing now…

"Sadusky," Ben was saying in a rush, "I'm still not against you. But I found door number three, and I'm taking it."

This was it! Tori knew she should be running to throw herself off the edge of the ship right now, but she just couldn't budge, not even when she knew the FBI agents were rapidly approaching behind her. Why the heck did Ben feel the need to keep giving himself away, like before at the gala?

Her legs were like lead pillars. At this point, she would much rather be nearly run over by the semi-truck! She couldn't even find the strength to call after Ben and let him know there was no way under heaven she could make it. But thankfully, he looked back and saw her, absolutely frozen in terror. So in one swift movement, he grabbed her arm, pulled her over the railing with him, and they were gone.

Tori screamed as she and Ben plummeted through the air, putting her arms tightly around him and dug her face into his shoulder so she wouldn't have to watch the water quickly approaching them. This was nothing like the rides as Six Flags! In fact, this experience made the worst ride there look like mere child's play. But luckily, they were both able to straighten out in the air as they fell and entered the water straight upright without any serious damage.

How Tori hated being underwater! It was cold and dark, and water swirled around her ears as they sank deeper into the murky river. Ben kept a firm grip on her forearm the entire time to keep them from being separated as she used her other hand to wildly reach for him, and she felt herself being pulled down with him when Phil grabbed onto his leg from below.

Tori was given her breathing mask first, as Ben's diving experience made him more comfortable holding his breath a bit longer than she was. But once he was set up and ready to go, they all grabbed onto the underwater propeller Phil had brought with him, and off they went. Tori found that experience to be genuinely quite fun, even though it was admittedly weird to be breathing underwater, and even weirder to be swimming with her shoes on.

At length, they surfaced on the far side of the Hudson River. Ben hauled himself up the ladder first, and from her place down in the water, Tori could still distinctly hear Shaw say, "Hello, Ben. Welcome to New Jersey." Sopping wet, she followed her companion up the ladder and shivered involuntarily when a cool breeze cut through her soaked clothes to bite into her skin. She could feel little goose-bumps forming all over, and it was hard to keep her teeth from chattering. Why didn't Ben look cold?

"Tori!"

Before the seventeen-year-old could react, she suddenly found herself crushed in a hug from her friend.

"Tori, you're alive, I'm so happy!" Smiling ecstatically, Haley embraced her friend again. "Oh hi, Ben, good to see you, too. But see, Tori, I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you!" She crinkled her nose. "You do realize you smell like river now, right?"

Tori rolled her eyes and flung some water off her hand at the other girl's face. "Well, why don't _you_ try it next time?"

Haley chuckled and lowered her voice. "You sound like Ben talking to Ian later on. And like him, I think I'll pass."

"Here you go." Powell stepped away from the trunk of the black Lincoln sedan with a pile of clothes in each hand. One set he handed to Ben, and the other to Tori. "I hope these fit. We had to guess your sizes."

"Don't worry," Haley whispered to Tori. "I helped them pick out your clothes, so you should be fine."

"Thanks! I'm not sure I'd trust these guys to shop for me."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Ladies, in the car, if you please." Shaw handed Tori a couple of towels, then opened the car door for her and Haley and gestured them inside. At least there the tinted windows would offer them some privacy.

"So," Haley started, once they were both in the back seat, and Tori was beginning to dry off with a towel, "are you still a fan of Sadusky after all this?"

Tori nodded, wringing the stinky river water out of her hair. "Yeah, but now I know that I really, reallydon't want to be on his bad side. I'm telling you, Halo, jail is notfun. And I _really _don't like Hendricks!"

Haley laughed. "Yeah, I kinda gathered as much. But, Tori, it's so good to see you again! And can you believe we're still in the movie after all this? That we haven't died or that no one's dumped us off somewhere yet?"

"I know, it's pretty amazing! I just hope everything keeps on going as smoothly from here."

The older girl nodded with a sigh, then confessed, "I'm a little worried about the ending, though. We still can't really say for sure how all that's going to turn out."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Tori gave her friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "If I can survive jumping off that ship, then I'm sure everything else will be just fine. Besides, we both know this movie has a happy ending, right?"

Haley smiled, grateful for the encouragement. "You're right, I shouldn't be so worried about it. But do you think we'll be sent back home when it's all over?"

"I don't know." Tori frowned as she thought. "I really do miss my mom and my friends, but this has all been such an exciting adventure! I mean, we'll never get to do stuff like this again, if and when we do go home. And I'm not sure I want to leave Riley, either. But at least we've still got a long ways to go before the end, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Right. And at least you and I will be together for a while now, through the part under the church and everything."

Suddenly, Tori froze, and her eyes seemed to get bigger as her stomach dropped. "Haley?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll survive that part under the church? I mean, in the shaft when everything collapses?"

Haley bit her lip nervously. "I don't know. We know how it turns out for everyone else, but that doesn't guarantee anything for us. Do you think we should risk it, or should we ask to stay behind when the time comes?"

Tori thought on that a minute, then shook her head. "No way. I say we go for it! We've come this far and survived everything else. I don't think we'd ever forgive ourselves if we sat out for that part, which would mean missing the scene when they find the treasure. And even if we did die, I would at least die happy because Riley would be right there with me!"

Haley laughed aloud at that, then teased, "Typical Tori-kins! I'm glad to hear you two are getting along so well. But now that you're ready to die with him, Juliet, please do enlighten us as to where you see your relationship progressing from here?"

"Come on, Halo, I'm serious! But what do you say? I'll risk it if you will."

"All right, I'm in. Let's do it!"

The girls shook on the agreement, and Tori began changing into her new clothes, which looked like they would indeed fit her just fine. She was thrilled to see that it was a pair of darker blue jeans, a black Guns N' Roses t-shirt, and a dark green sweater jacket. Her friend really did know her tastes very well! Haley looked away, for courtesy's sake, but it turned out to be the worst mistake she could have possibly made. The tinted windows on the car prevented the guys outside from looking in, but it did nothing to stop the two young ladies on the inside from looking out. And when Haley looked away from Tori, the first thing she saw outside was Phil. Without a shirt on.

Cursing herself for having so foolishly forgotten that he and Ben were changing, as well, Haley at once averted her eyes and blushed furiously. She felt like Ian now, calling herself an "idiot" with great vehemence; but even in that brief glimpse, it would have been impossible for any of the female sex not to notice such a well-sculpted body. Although, having fallen on top of him the night before, she really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Haley, are you okay?" Tori was keenly observing her companion and frowning slightly at her sudden change in behavior.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine," the older girl stammered, her cheeks still hot. She had to change the subject. "So are you about ready to go now?"

Tori nodded, but she was far from satisfied. She could not say for certain what had made Haley blush like that, but it clearly hadn't been Ian, considering he wasn't even here. Perhaps the brilliant blonde Englishman was no longer her exclusive favorite?

Just then, Shaw tapped on the glass of the back window, and both girls got out, signifying all was ready on their end. A few short minutes later, all six of them were piled in the car and on their way to meet Ian. Ben sat in the back, wedged in between Shaw and Powell, and Tori and Haley were both squeezed into the front seat.

Just to see what would happen, Tori employed an old trick she had learned firsthand from some of her friends back home since they had used it on her a few times and saw to it that Haley sat in the middle, next to Phil who was once again driving. And her efforts were rewarded by a slight blush that did not go unnoticed.

Haley awkwardly cleared her throat and tried to make conversation. "You know, Phil, it just doesn't seem fair that you drove us here, did all the diving to bring back Ben and Tori, and now they're making you drive _again._"

"That's because he's the rookie," Powell spoke up from the back.

The older girl grinned and glanced back over at the subject of their conversation. "Really?"

"So exactly how long have you guys all been working together?" Tori asked, winking at Haley. This would be great information for fanfics, if and when they ever got sent back home.

"Ian and I have been working together for almost sixteen years now," Shaw answered her. "Powell joined us in England about ten years ago, and a few years after that is when he found Viktor. Phil here is the baby of the gang. He joined about three or four years ago, not long after we'd all moved the US."

"And then you met Ben?" Tori surmised, to which Powell nodded an affirmative.

"About two years after Phil came on board."

"Then Ian and I recruited Riley," Ben filled in, "and you know the rest."

"That I do." The seventeen-year-old grinned and exchanged looks with her friend. They knew _all _the rest.

Just then, Tori's stomach grumbled, and Haley couldn't hold back her laughter.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" Tori protested, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm hungry."

"I told you to eat more last night," Ben said from behind them in a tone that a mother would use to speak to her rebellious teenager, though there was a slight smile on his face along with a somewhat concerned glint in his eye. "Apparently, you didn't listen."

"Well, sorry I didn't pay more attention to Mr. Know-It-All! But I was nervous about today – because I had no idea what was going to happen, of course. I just didn't have much of an appetite last night. Not to mention it wasn't the best thing in the world to eat, you know…"

All of a sudden, Powell reached up and tapped her on the shoulder. "Here ya go, Kiddo. All I've got is a cough drop, but it's better than nothing."

"Aw, thanks, Powell." Tori accepted the proffered cough drop, genuinely grateful for her captor's generosity, but once again, she couldn't even look at Haley without the temptation to burst out laughing. This certainly wasn't the first time someone had eaten cough drops to stave off hunger. But they were saved from being forced into a rather complicated explanation when Shaw's cell phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?" He answered the call, and then handed the phone over to Ben. "It's for you."

Ben took the phone and leaned forward in his seat, as though that would make it more difficult for the others to overhear his conversation with Abigail. They heard him verify that she and Riley were all right before informing his friend, "Yeah, Tori's here, too, and she's fine. Just a bit hungry after not eating dinner last night."

Tori couldn't help but smile at the thought of Riley's concern, but Haley playfully elbowed her in the ribs and sent a knowing glance of her own in her friend's direction. What a terribly vicious cycle they were on – of teasing and blushing and being ruthlessly teased again in turn.

"We're here," Phil announced, bringing the black sedan to a halt at the side of the road near a very familiar intersection – Wall Street and Broadway.

"Okay, chica-chee, this is where you get off. Good luck!" Haley hugged her friend tightly, and when their heads were close, Tori whispered into her ear, "See you inside."

The older girl smiled and nodded at her encouragingly, then sat waiting in the car with the rest of the guys while Ben and Tori both walked over to where Ian Howe awaited them.

**Halo's A/N**: Oh my gosh, is this fic not a release for all the fangirlish-ness we've ever felt in our lives, or what?! I cannot believe some of the things we just did in this chapter, not to mention the one before it. I am rightfully ashamed. But on the other hand, I suppose it was kinda fun in a strange twisted sort of way - just not something I'd ever want to write on a regular basis, lol. I think we're both way out of our literary comfort zones here. Thanks for reading!

**Tori's A/N**: Okay, typical me in this chapter definitely. I can be so excited about something that I'm going to do that's like crazy, and then I freak out at the last minute. But see, I'm starting to get back at Halo here… ever so slowly and with Shaw's help, of course. Oh, and the cough drop thing… On the last day of school of my junior year, one of my friends was incredibly hungry while we ran errands for a teacher. We stopped in another teacher's classroom (said teacher wasn't there at the time) and my friend was going through his desk to see if he had any stored food. Instead, he found cough drops, which surprisingly held him off for a little bit until all of my friends went to Taco Bell after. So, I thought it would be funny to see if it actually worked, lol. Thanks for reading! See you guys next time!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Wow, and here's yet another one! Can you guys believe this? **Tori **and I are blaming it on ffnet for being most uncooperative the past couple days and on the fact that there's a long weekend coming up, and you guys will need something to hold you over until we get back, lol. Thanks, as always, to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, and we do hope you enjoy Chapter Ten!

**Chapter 10**

"Ben!" Ian strode over toward them, a seeming genuine smile gracing his handsome face. "Glad to see you're both all right. No broken bones? A jump like that could kill a man."

Ben shook his head. "No, it was great! You ought to try it sometime."

"I'm okay, too, thanks for asking," Tori piped up, and Ian deigned to offer a nod in her direction.

"Yes, I'm sure your friend was very glad to see you."

He then proceeded to blatantly ignore her throughout the remainder of his conversation with Ben, and Tori "hmph-ed".

_I guess I was right to make him so focused and single-minded in all my stories, _she thought. _He barely acknowledges that I'm even here! But oh well. He just doesn't know that I know where the treasure really is and how the movie's going to end. That'll teach him to be discourteous!_

She smiled smugly at the thought, but the smile soon turned to one of sheer joy when she caught a glimpse of Riley and Abigail out of the corner of her eye. They were standing by the window inside an internet café across the street, watching the events unfold, and Tori found it so hard not to wave so she wouldn't give them away. She hadn't realized how badly she missed them – especially Riley.

When she turned her attention back to the men standing near her, she was just in time to see Viktor open the back door of a black SUV across the street, revealing a bound Patrick Gates within.

"Dad…" Seeing his father as a hostage was all Ben needed to have a sudden change of heart, and he at once told Ian that they needed to go inside Trinity Church.

"Excellent," the Englishman remarked pleasantly. "And, Ben, why don't you ask Dr. Chase and Riley to join us? I'm sure they're around here somewhere."

* * *

Haley and the others in the car got out to join their companions when they began making their way toward the nearby building. Powell and Viktor headed across the street, and the rest of them went into the sanctuary of Trinity Church. It was a truly beautiful place. Tori had been inside of the building before, but it looked nothing like she remembered it. It was much more… beautiful and calming now without all of the other people inside it and the roped-off areas. Sunlight flowed in through the stained-glass windows, bathing them all in gentle rainbow colors, and everything was strangely calm and quiet in comparison to the circumstances that had brought them there.

As they strode down the middle aisle, Ben leaned over to ask his father if he was all right, and Tori suddenly looked behind her to catch Haley's eye.

"It's that part," she mouthed wordlessly, to which her friend responded with an emphatic nod. It was an epic struggle for both of them not to laugh, for it was indeed the part of "Shaw's Funny Walk," as they had affectionately named it. But in the end, they were successful, and Ben settled into a pew farthest forward with Ian to examine the map, while Shaw forced Patrick and Tori down into a pew a few rows back.

Haley sat down in a pew a couple of rows behind them, knowing they wouldn't be there long and wanting to keep an eye on her friend while she was still in Shaw's clutches. Phil came over then and stopped for a moment in the middle of the aisle. His eyes darted back and forth uncertainly a few times between Shaw and Haley before he finally opted to sit farther back beside the young lady who offered him a small smile as he joined her. He smiled back, and Haley could scarcely believe it when she felt her stomach do an involuntary flip-flop. Her eyes widened at the sensation, and she suddenly looked away from him, knowing full well that it did little to mask the rising color in her cheeks.

Meanwhile, the back door of the sanctuary had opened again, and this time Powell and Viktor entered, pushing Riley and Abigail on ahead of them. Tori looked back at them from where she sat and grinned madly. Finally, they were all reunited! Yet their arrival also meant that poor Ben now truly had no choice but to cooperate, and when he and Ian had finished looking over the map, they determined that their quest was now leading them to Parkington Lane – _beneath _Trinity Church.

On their way out of the sanctuary, Riley rushed past Haley, throwing her another dark glare along the way. He hurried up to Tori and gave her a quick hug, which she heartily returned.

"I'm glad you're all right, T! And here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie wrapped up in a napkin from the internet café. "Ben told me you were hungry."

"Thank you, Riley!" Even though it was such a simple act of kindness, Tori truly didn't know what else to say; but she did have time to give him one last hug before they were pushed along toward the basement.

She finished her cookie in a matter of seconds, watching Shaw clap Ian on the back as the two old friends made their descent; but when she saw Viktor shove Riley in the back for no reason in front of her, something snapped.

"Hey, leave him alone!" she protested sharply, and everyone stopped to stare at her for a minute. Even Viktor himself was too taken aback by her uncharacteristic vehemence to utter a retort.

But at length, they all recovered and moved on, and Ben stayed to hold the door open. Abigail tried to stop when she passed by him and apologize for how badly everything had gone, but Phil came up behind her and grabbed a hold of her shoulders to steer her along after the others.

Only a few steps behind them, Haley witnessed the interaction and at once felt an inexplicable twinge of…was that _jealousy_? _Oh no. _Surely it wasn't! But then what else could it possibly have been? She simply had no answer for herself there and could only wonder: _What on earth is happening to me?_

She fervently shook her head in an attempt to make the thought go away, but to no avail. She knew she'd always had a 'soft spot' for the 'bad guys,' but never, even after all the times she had seen _National Treasure_, would she have ever expected _this_.

Meanwhile, down in the sub-basement of the church, everyone was busy searching for some sign of the mysterious "Parkington Lane." Everyone, of course, except Haley and Tori who both knew the dilemma would be solved soon enough.

"Hey, I found him!" Riley suddenly exclaimed, pointing at one of the graves in the wall.

"It's a name," Ian mused, running his hand along the worn stone. Ben joined him and was about to launch into some lengthy explanation of who Parkington Lane had been, when he was abruptly cut off by the sledgehammer in Viktor's hands. Once the Russian man had broken through the wall, all of the guys except Riley and Patrick helped lift the rotten coffin from out of the tomb.

But as soon as they had freed the casket from the grave, the coffin lid fell open with a sudden crash, littering the dusty bones of Parkington Lane at their feet. Without exception, each of them jumped with a start or uttered an exclamation of surprise when the bones came spilling out, even Tori and Haley who knew in advance that it was coming.

Tori was actually so startled that she staggered backwards right into Riley, nearly knocking him over like he had done to her back on board _The Charlotte_. That day seemed so very long ago now. But as it was, Riley managed to stop her before she could inflict too much damage, and Tori was able to take a moment to calm her racing heart. How did she keep forgetting about stuff like this? She only hoped it wouldn't happen again before the end.

The men finally lowered the coffin back over the scattered bones, and Powell dryly remarked, "Careful no one steps in him."

Haley looked over at Tori, and this time, they did burst into a sudden fit of laughter as they thought of Haley's younger sister, Hannah, who could imitate that line to perfection!

A pleasantly surprised Powell just stared at them, as did everyone else, and he mused, "I didn't know it was that funny."

"It wasn't," Ian spoke up impatiently. "Now, girls, will you please stop that racket?"

The two friends simultaneously nodded and grew quiet almost at once. They both knew there would be no sense in making Ian mad at this point in the movie.

"All right," the Englishman went on, "Viktor, you stay here and keep watch. Phil, you'll come in with us for a ways until I tell you to stop and wait, and if anyone should come back without me…well, use your imagination."

Tori looked rather pointedly at Viktor and scoffed. "What imagination?"

The others glared at her, and Riley tried to shush her as he grabbed her arm and hissed, "T, stop it! Are you _trying_ to get us all killed?"

She shrugged innocently and looked back down the dark, gaping maw that awaited them. Riley nervously followed her gaze.

"So, who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?"

"I'll be there's a lot of spiders in there." Haley shivered and took a subconscious step back towards Phil, remembering his promise the night before to protect her from such monstrosities.

Tori glanced over at her friend and nodded worriedly as she subconsciously reached to grab a hold of the person closest to her. She didn't care too much for spiders herself, or any kind of bug for that matter. But in her mind, bugs were at least better than snakes. She still clung anxiously to Riley's arm, though, since he was closest, and was relieved when he really didn't seem to mind.

"Shall we?" Ian nodded casually toward the tunnel, and it came as no surprise to the rest of them when Ben was the first one inside. The others followed him, everyone receiving a helping hand up from those still waiting their turn. Riley offered his hand to Tori, and Phil helped Haley step inside; and while the former girl thought the arrangement perfectly normal and expected, the latter found it to be a bit strange, though still far from unpleasant or unwelcome.

Being farther near the back, they were able to evade most of the cobwebs that had been pushed aside by those ahead of them, a fact for which Haley was extremely grateful. Ben and Ian lit a torch when it grew too dark to see before leading them further on in their descent. They came to a sudden step down, and Ben stayed behind to warn everybody to watch their step and to offer some sort of encouragement. For his father, it was a guiding hand on his arm; for Riley, it was a firm hand on the shoulder; for Tori, it was a reassuring nod and a smile; and for Abigail, it was an impulsive kiss on the lips. The single most "romantic" part of the entire movie.

Having anticipated Ben's impetuous move, Tori glanced back at the new couple and went, "Aww!"

From back behind them, Powell looked on in blatant envy and disbelief. "Why does that never happen to me?"

Haley gently patted him on the shoulder in sympathy as she passed by, but she still couldn't keep from smiling at the line that had never failed to make her laugh. Unfortunately, Hannah never had beenquite able to master that one.

Finally, they arrived at the high platform overlooking the tremendous shaft filled with wooden platforms and elevators. Ben lit the chandelier, and Haley cringed, still fearing the eager treasure-hunter would burn the place down with his free-spirited use of that torch. But everything went fine, as it always had in the movie the countless times they'd seen it, and so they were free to gaze in awe at the immensity of the underground structure before them.

"Wow," Tori breathed, "this is so cool!"

"How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Powell wondered, to which Ben replied, "The same way they built the pyramids and the Great Wall of China."

"Yeah," Riley concurred. "The aliens helped them."

Tori and Haley both chuckled at that, as indeed they usually did, especially since the younger girl had that line in her answering machine on her cell phone, and Haley leaned over to peer down over the wooden railing.

"Careful, Hobbitses," she commented, putting on her best Gollum voice. "Very far to fall." The remark earned her more than one strange glance from her companions, and she soon found herself wondering in a panic if they even had _The Lord of the Rings _in this world.

But thankfully, the beloved trilogy wasn't completely foreign, for Ian rolled his eyes and "Smeagol dryly thanked" for stating the obvious before commanding that they head out onto the structure and continue downward. Patrick resisted for a moment, only to comply soon enough at his son's urging. There was no shortage of creaking as the wooden boards bent and groaned under their weight, but everything seemed to be holding up well enough. So far.

After they'd gone down a considerable distance, Riley went over to the far side of the railing and gazed down in a vain attempt to see the bottom. Sensing her companion was no longer near her, Tori likewise halted and looked back.

"Riley, why are you stopping?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just looking. Gah!" All of a sudden, the techie began stamping his feet and shaking his hands madly when he realized he'd been standing in a veritable nest of cockroaches. Tori gasped and staggered back away from him as quickly as she could without falling over something. Blast it all, she _had _forgotten another scene! At least this one was technically a "Deleted Scene," so she had some small excuse for having overlooked it.

Meanwhile, Riley was still struggling to free his hands of the clinging cockroaches, and when he desperately flung his hand upward and outward, one of the disgusting creatures flew off and landed right in Haley's hair. She saw it come flying through the air toward her but had no time to duck out of the way before she felt it land on her head with a sickening crunch.

Her scream of terror then was easily twice the magnitude of when she'd discovered that spider in the bathroom the night before, and she clawed frantically at her hair to be rid of the loathsome insect. But she couldn't see the thing, and it all seemed a hopeless business until Phil finally came to her rescue. He pulled her hands down away from her head and forced her to hold still long enough for him to extract the slippery cockroach from her hair.

Once he had extricated the little devil and squashed it under his shoe, he turned back to Haley, who still looked like she was expecting the world to end at any moment. He kept one hand on her shoulder, to steady her just in case something else unexpected happened.

"You okay?"

She drew a deep breath to calm herself, nodded, and gazed up at her savior with heartfelt gratitude. "Phil, you saved my life – thank you!"

He only chuckled and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze of reassurance before withdrawing his hand completely. "Somehow I doubt that. But if I ever do really save your life, I'll be sure to let you know. Now come on, we're falling behind."

Haley hadn't even noticed it, but he was right. The others were already a considerable distance ahead of them, but for some reason, she didn't feel any sort of great desire to catch up with them. Strangely enough, this was the safest and the most secure she had felt all movie, and she was reluctant to move on. Not to mention the fact that Tori and Abigail were most likely still laughing at her and Riley's recent misfortune.

But as she walked on forward in front of Phil, Haley began to grow increasingly nervous. That horrible part would be coming up any minute now – could she really just stand back and let it happen? Oh, how she wished she'd talked to Tori about this back when they were in the car together! Why couldn't she have thought of it then?

And then, it happened. An ominous rumbling began to shake the very wooden platforms on which they stood, and clouds of dust rained down on all of them. Tori blinked furiously when she felt some of it get in her eyes, but in a few moments, the phenomenon had passed completely. They all stood in silence for a minute, looking nervously at each other until Ian finally provided an answer.

"Subway."

Ben nodded in agreement, looking somewhat relieved, but before anyone could take another step, Haley intervened.

"Stop!" she shouted in a frenzy. "Hold on a minute – nobody move!"

Ian was now looking at her now as though she had grown horns out of the top of her head. "What the devil is wrong with you?"

Up ahead, Tori caught her friend's eye and sent her a warning look that said, _Don't you _dare_! Remember our pact!_

Haley gulped. She never had been that great at thinking on her feet, but she needed to come up with something now, and fast! "Um, it's just that I don't trust all this rotting wood here, especially with the subway shaking it up like this."

Ian wasn't fazed. "Haley, the subway has been passing over this place for decades, and everything is still here in one piece."

"Right, but no one's been _walking _on them for centuries." The brunette had to struggle not to let her relief show, for he had given her the golden opening for that rebuttal. And indeed no one, not even the brilliant Englishman himself, could offer any valid retort.

She went on, "Please, you guys, just be careful! This situation's already tense enough, and the last thing we need now is for someone to plummet to their death. I've just got a really bad feeling about all this, so _please _double-check the planks you're about to step on before giving it your full weight."

Tori shook her head at the older girl and rolled her eyes. They would most definitely be talking about that later. _If _they survived, that was. She had to hand it to Haley for not giving too much away, but she still wasn't sure if that little speech would really help to change what was supposed to happen next. Like her, the others still seemed rather skeptical about Haley's precautions, but she sounded so earnest that they did, in fact, proceed with more caution.

Shaw tested the wooden planks in front of him before cautiously stepping out with one foot. The planks immediately gave way, snapping sharply in half, and Shaw would surely have fallen with them in an instant if he hadn't had one foot still on solid ground. It wasn't quite enough leverage for him to save himself, but it did give Ben the few seconds it took to step forward and pull his former colleague back from the gaping hole in the walkway.

Ian stared wide-eyed first at Haley, then at the empty space where the planks had been only seconds before, and finally at Shaw.

"My God, Shaw, are you all right?"

His fellow Brit nodded. For a brief while, Shaw had appeared to be as shaken up by the affair as any of them had ever seen him, but not surprisingly, it hadn't taken him long to resume his composure. He opened his mouth to answer his old friend, when suddenly, they heard a loud 'crack!' – and all hell broke loose.

**Halo's A/N**: Hey, does this count as a cliffhanger? I don't think we've really done one of those yet. Clearly, **Tori** hasn't been able to get her hands on the end of many chapters yet, since her cliffies, as you all know, are legendary. See ya next time!

**Tori's A/N**: Aww, thanks for the compliment about my "legendary cliffhangers," Halo! I really am proud of them, and for those of you who are reading "The Forgotten Heir," you can expect a couple of bad ones coming up. And, just like this story, that story is finished on my end. All I have to do is find time to update it! And my revenge is coming along quite nicely, and I didn't even need Shaw in this one, lol! Shame, shame, Haley, for changing the course of the movie though… Well, I think she's got a couple of more things up her sleeve too, so I can't really do too much to her. So, thanks for reading, and hopefully we'll update soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo' A/N: **Hey, everybody! Well, we're back from a long weekend now and all getting settled back into the normal, daily routines. Which isn't necessarily much fun, but at least we've got an update for you! Our sincere gratitude for those reviewers on our last set of updates: **GreenLightsaberGirl, TheBlueHour, **and **Dimonah Tralon**. Thanks for taking the time out of your weekend to R&R! And I'm very glad to hear you guys agree with our decision to keep Shaw around. He may be kinda scary, but he was just too cool for us to let him die, lol. Enjoy!

**Chapter 11**

Ropes snapped, wood cracked, and in the blink of an eye, their downward journey had become deadly. From where he stood at the very back of the procession, Phil grabbed Haley by the shoulders, dropping his flashlight in the process, and pulled her with him as he hurriedly stepped back off the precarious walkway and onto a more stable ledge behind them.

Ian gasped and clung to a wooden post behind him when the platform he, Powell, and Patrick were standing on suddenly lurched forward. It would give completely at any moment. The Englishman's eyes scanned his surroundings and finally landed on an elevator some distance below and in front of them.

He turned to Powell and commanded, "Get on the elevator. Go!"

The platform jerked violently again, and when the Scotsman still showed some hesitation, Ian helped him along with an insistent shove. Powell landed safely on the distant elevator and turned around to catch the torch that Patrick tossed to him before the elderly man jumped across himself. Ian looked set to follow, but at that instant, there was a sharp 'snap!' and the platform under his feet gave out altogether. He pushed himself off the planks as they collapsed, just barely making the leap over to elevator, and with Powell's immediate help, he hauled himself back up to his feet.

Meanwhile, further back, Riley had likewise jumped from the suspended walkway at the first sign of trouble, landing roughly but safely on a sturdy wooden platform structured against the support of the far wall. He turned back to the others whom he'd left behind, his eyes bright with worry.

"You guys can make it!" he called out to them. "Come on, T – jump!"

Riley opened his arms wide to beckon her forward and show that he was waiting to help catch her, but Tori herself was frozen. Just like on the _Intrepid._ And while she still hated herself for it, she felt absolutely rooted in place, and there was nothing she could possibly do to move.

"Jump, Tori!" Haley shouted from her safe position on the far side of the abyss. "You can do it!"

But Tori just stood there, still unable to move even though the wood all around her was cracking and popping dangerously. She couldn't budge.

"Just go, already!"

Not until later would Tori fully realize the shock of that moment, when Shaw suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and more or less threw her across the divide to where Riley was waiting. The techie caught her as she landed, but the impact of her momentum still knocked him off his feet, and Tori landed in an absolute wreck on top of him.

Shaw landed beside them only a second later, perfectly safe and sound, but Ben and Abigail were both still behind on the precariously balanced platform. Desperate to protect the precious document still in his grasp, Ben extended the Declaration of Independence toward Shaw, but before the other man could reach it, the ropes supporting the platform all snapped with a loud 'pop!' and Abigail's scream of terror was all that could be heard as the structure plummeted.

Finally, their descent came to a jolting halt, but Abigail lost her balance in the process and began sliding off the edge. Ben panicked and grabbed onto her arm with his free hand – leaving the Declaration wholly unsupported. And though he obviously hated to do it, he released Abigail's hand as soon as she was suspended over a different platform. She landed hard, fortunate that the old wood hadn't given out under her sudden weight; but Ben was able to recover the Declaration, and with a little help from a rope dropped down by the others above, he at last joined Abigail on the far side.

Riley and Tori had observed the entire episode, both of their hearts pounding with adrenaline. Shaw had already left them to reunite with Powell and Ian, but the two young people still hadn't even risen from their uncomfortable position on the ground. And strangely enough, Tori didn't even care. Her knee hurt, and it was probably scraped and bleeding beneath her jeans, but what did that matter when she was still here right next to Riley? Alive. She had clung tightly onto his arm as they'd watched the events unfold, and he hadn't seemed to mind in the least.

"Come on," he said at last, once they knew Ben and Abigail were safe. He gently pulled Tori up after him, asking to make sure she was all right as they moved along.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, still a bit shaky. She decided that she wouldn't mention her knee to him since it was probably just a scratch, and she didn't want to worry him. "Just a little freaked out."

He smiled at her and gave her a quick pat of encouragement on the shoulder. By the time they reached their friends, Ben was busy trying to apologize to Abigail.

"I'm so sorry," he said in a rush, "I'm sorry I dropped you, but I had to save the Declaration."

"Oh no," she assured him with a smile, "don't be. Believe me, I would've done the same thing to you."

For all his intelligence, Ben looked like he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Really?"

"I would've dropped you both," Riley joined in as he and Tori came up behind them. "Ya freaks. But not you," he amended quickly with a glance back at Tori. "You're cool."

Tori beamed at that, feeling exceptionally special now, but her smile faded a little when reality set back in and Ian came down beside them in the elevator. Ben sought to argue logically with his former associate, saying that it was lunacy to keep going when the entire structure was so unsound; but Ian remained undaunted, and since his men had the guns, the others had no choice but to reluctantly comply.

Once they were all on board, Ian looked around, taking a quick head count. "Everyone here?"

"Not quite everyone." Powell pointed back to where they'd come from, high above them and across the far side of the shaft. Phil and Haley were still up there, for they had stepped backward to avoid the collapsing catastrophe when everyone else had gone forward. And as she looked back up at her friend, Tori couldn't help but notice that Phil still had his hands placed firmly on Haley's shoulders, with apparently little intention of letting go anytime soon. The younger girl smiled. Who would have thought that Phil, for as much as he had shot at her and Ben earlier, actually had a bit of a protective streak in him?

But Ian sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair in aggravation, and called up to his colleague. "Phil!"

"Yeah?"

"The elevators are gone besides this one, and there's no other remotely safe way to get the two of you down here. Go on back to the entrance and keep Viktor company until we get back."

Phil nodded. "Right. We'll meet you there." He finally let go of Haley and turned to leave, but before she followed him, the brunette waved back down at the others.

"Bye, Tori!" she called. "Remember me at the end!"

Tori waved back and nodded, understanding her friend completely. No doubt the others thought Haley was referring to "the end" of the treasure hunt, but Tori knew she really meant "the end" of the movie when they would be confronted once more by Agent Sadusky. And Tori had every intention of sticking up for her friend when that moment came.

Phil waited until Haley joined him before he began walking again, and as they were leaving, he leaned over toward her and said, "See? That time I really _did _save your life." Haley laughed, wondering why she felt herself blushing again over such a simple comment, and soon the two of them had disappeared from sight.

When they had gone, Ian nodded to Powell who began slowly cranking the little wheel that would lower the elevator down to their destination. As they went, Tori observed that while Ian had been just as insistent as before about going after the treasure as soon as possible, he did look considerably calmer now as opposed to during the movie – probably because Shaw hadn't died, even though it _had _been a very close call. She also couldn't help but note that with her and Shaw here this time, the elevator was much more crowded as she found herself crushed between Riley and Ben. It was probably just as well that Phil and Haley couldn't join them, after all.

But all too soon, they arrived at the small, enclosed room that marked the end of their trail, and it did indeed look empty and dismal.

"Well?" Powell pressed impatiently. "Where's the treasure?"

Ben finished passing his hand over one of the far walls, sighed, and turned back to his companions. "It's gone."

"What?" Riley looked as though he didn't believe that for a minute. "You mean we came all this way for a dead end? Come on, Ben, there has to be another clue."

"No, there isn't another clue!" Ben snapped with unexpected vehemence. "The treasure's been moved, taken somewhere else."

"You're not playing games with me, are you, Ben?" Ian was observing his former partner with keen, penetrating eyes, and Tori bit her lip anxiously. She always had found it surprising that Ian had been so easily fooled at this part; eventually, she and Haley had credited it to Ian's being "emotionally distraught" over Shaw's death. So how much more would that change now that Shaw was still alive? Now she would really have to lecture Haley about that little monologue of hers later on, despite the fact that she herself was also relieved Shaw hadn't died.

But Ben did an uncharacteristically good job of bluffing this time around, and with a little help from Patrick who ingeniously invented the clue about Paul Revere and the lantern at the Old North Church in Boston, their British adversary was led astray. However, in a move that surprised everyone but Tori, Ian rapidly joined Shaw and Powell on the elevator, and the three of them pushed away from where the others were running toward them in a panic.

"Ian, wait!" Abigail yelled. "You can't just leave us here!"

"Yes, I can," he replied simply. "Why should I give you the chance to escape in Boston? Besides, with you all out of the picture, there's less baggage to carry."

Now it was Riley's turn. "Please, Ian, why don't you just come back down here, and we'll talk this all out…"

"Don't speak again." Clearly, Ian wished to hear no more from Riley Poole, for Powell's gun was now in his hand and aimed directly at the techie.

"Okay," the younger man breathed nervously, but he still made sure to carefully position himself between the barrel of Ian's gun and Tori. He had tried to be discreet in his protective instinct, but she still couldn't help but notice and appreciate it.

"But what if we lied?" Patrick posed, but that soon proved to be the wrong approach as well when Ian shifted his aim toward the older gentleman.

"Did you?"

"What if there's another clue?" Ben offered, trying to draw attention away from his father, but that also had little effect.

"Then I'll know right where to find you. See you, Ben." And with as pleasant a smile as they'd ever seen from him, Ian Howe and his men were lifted out of sight, impervious to the frantic cries of those beneath them.

"We're all gonna die," Riley murmured when they had gone. He slumped down against one of the stone walls, looking genuinely distressed.

Tori sat down beside him and patted his knee. "Don't worry, Riley. We'll make it out."

The techie frowned and looked up at her quizzically. "Huh?"

Tori's mouth suddenly went dry, and she panicked with the realization that she had said far too much. "I mean, I still have a good feeling that everything's going to turn out okay – that's all."

"And she's right," Ben joined in, inadvertently coming to her rescue. "There's another way out."

"Where?" Abigail questioned, once more sounding hopeful.

Ben smiled at her as he located a dusty round carving on the far wall. "Through the treasure room." He then pushed in the circular disc, and a hidden door swung back to reveal the entrance into another secret chamber.

They all looked at each other, speechless with excitement, and stepped inside. Ben was the first one in, brandishing his torch in front of him to light the way, but suddenly, he stopped. There was nothing in this chamber either, save a lot of dust and rocks. The others came in behind him and likewise stopped short. Ben's disappointment hung in the thick air of the chamber like something palpable.

"It's gone," he muttered in disbelief. "It may have even been gone when Charles Carroll first told the story to Thomas Gates."

Abigail was the first to feel brave enough to offer her condolences. "I'm sorry, Ben."

He didn't appear to have even heard her, so Patrick stepped forward and laid an encouraging hand on his son's shoulder. "You did it, Ben," he said with a smile. "Just look at us! This place is real – which means the treasure must also be real. We're standing here in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history because you followed the clues they left for us to find! And I've never been happier to be proven wrong."

That evoked a small smile of acknowledgement from Ben, even in the depths of his discouragement, and he reached out to pull his dad into an embrace that they both no doubt wished they could have shared with all the generations of their family who had come before them.

Tori watched them with a broad smile on her face, and she thought she might have even felt tears welling up in her eyes at the warm fuzziness of it all. This always had been such a sweet father/son moment!

"But what do we do now?" Ben asked at length, to which Patrick firmly replied, "We keep looking for it."

"I'm in," Abigail said, her eyes only on Ben.

"I am, too!" Tori proclaimed proudly, although she knew her declaration didn't possess quite the same weight as Abigail's and Patrick's. After all, she already knew that the treasure was just on the other side of that far wall.

"Listen, I hate to be Johnny Raincloud," Riley finally spoke up, "but it looks to me like we're still stuck down here. And when Ian realizes we tricked him, he'll just come back, and he'll…shoot us then. Either way, we're gonna die."

"Well, that's exactly what I don't understand," Ben reasoned. "There should be another escape route on the other side of the shaft, built for air and in case of cave-ins."

He walked back over to the far wall and began examining it again in greater detail. Before long, he held up the Meerschaum pipe from _The Charlotte _and mused, "Could it really be that simple?"

He carefully fitted the body of the pipe into an opening that was shaped perfectly for it and stuck the stem into another hole right beneath it. Taking one more anxious glance back at the others, he held his breath and turned the stem.

There was a creaking, a cracking, and a shower of dust that fell from the wall as it slowly opened to reveal a vast, dark space.

"Good thing Ian gave you back the pipe," Tori commented to no one in particular.

Once again, Ben was the first to step inside, followed by the others, and he wasted no time in lighting a trail of oil that lit up the entire room.

Tori simply stared at the spectacle before her, her eyes wide. There was no way the movie could have done all this justice. It was simply tremendous! Everywhere she looked there were mounds of golden trinkets and artifacts, every single one of them no doubt worth thousands of dollars in and of themselves.

Patrick was the first to truly celebrate. He pumped his fist in the air and gave a shout of victory before hugging his son once more. Still awestruck, they all slowly made their way down to the main floor of the treasure chamber. Abigail was drawn immediately to some weathered scrolls from the library at Alexandria, and both members of the Gates family found relics pertaining to the Free Masons.

Tori just took a few moments to take it all in, and by the time she joined Riley, he was already hugging the "bluish-green man with the funny-looking goat-tee."

"Hey, what about me?" she demanded with a teasing grin. "I'm an actual living human being here! Don't I get a hug, too?"

"Oh, of course you do!" He wrapped her up in a crushing bear hug, and when the two of them broke away, they all parted ways for a brief while to do some more exploring. But Tori soon found herself coming back over to Riley and Abigail, and this time, when she glanced over at her techie friend, there were undeniable tears of joy welling in his eyes.

Abigail noticed this, too, and decided to have some fun with it. "Riley, are you crying?"

"Look," he choked out, pointing to the far end of the vast chamber where a rickety wooden structure had been built up against the wall. "Stairs."

Tori looked over at him again and smiled. "All this for stairs, huh? What do you do when you see an escalator?"

**Halo's A/N:** Yay, so the "good guys" still find the treasure! Just like it should be, with or without Tori's and my interference, lol. But wow, there's only one more chapter of real story after this, and then an Epilogue. I can't believe it's gone by so fast, but thanks to everyone for sticking with us this far! See you next time!

**Tori's A/N**: Embarrassing chapter for me? Yeah, somewhat. But don't worry, guys. Haley will be getting her turn soon, I'll make sure of it. And yeah, we found the treasure without us interfering, and we also survived the whole structure collapsing! Yeah, I can't believe we're almost done either! This has been so much fun, and we're glad that you guys have enjoyed it too! So, see ya next time, guys!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Hey, everybody! It's hard to believe it, but we have indeed arrived at the last "real" chapter of this fic. Special shout-outs to our much beloved reviewers **TheBlueHour, FillyRSA, Dimonah Tralon, Miss Fenway, **and **daisyduke80**. And in regard to the mentions of a sequel that we've been hearing, all I can suggest is that you stick around. Idk, Tori – what do you say to a sequel? We'll have to discuss it, lol. But anywho, I was looking over this chapter before sending it on to Tori, and it looks like my friend is about to be duly avenged for all the "suffering" I've put her through in earlier chapters. We've been saying it before, but now it's true – Halo's time has come. So I'm gonna go hide under a rug somewhere now, but the rest of you please enjoy Chapter Twelve!

**Tori's A/N**: You can hide under any rug you want, but I'll still find you! Hahahaha! Okay, I'm just kidding. I'm not that evil. But this will surely be fun, huh, guys! She deserves it after all the "suffering" she put me through! And, idk. A sequel may be fun, huh, Halo? We'll have to talk about it. But for now, everyone enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter 12**

Haley and Phil made their way back toward the hidden entrance in silence, and Haley wondered why she wasn't more upset that she would be missing out on the discovery of the treasure. Their sojourn was uneventful until the path narrowed into the dark passageways they had come out of not long ago.

"Oh great, and now we have no light," Haley muttered, remembering that all the torches were still in possession of their comrades. "Phil, you got a flashlight?"

Her tall companion shook his head and quietly answered, "Not anymore. I dropped it back there when things started falling apart, but don't worry. We'll be fine."

Without another word, he took her by the arm and gently led her behind him down into the dark tunnel.

It was indeed pitch black in there, but Haley trusted Phil to lead them out of it in one piece. Not that it still wasn't a bit unnerving, though. If not for his steady hand on her arm, she would never have even known he was there. Apparently, he walked quietly, too. They were progressing very slowly, and still neither of them spoke until suddenly, they stopped.

"What's going on?" Haley whispered anxiously. There was probably no need to whisper, but it still felt right somehow in this dark and enclosed space. "Are we lost?" she tried again, but still there came no answer. "Phil?"

The next thing she knew, he had her face cupped in his hand, and the next thing she felt was his lips against her cheek. In the utter darkness, it was difficult to tell if that had been his intent; but clearly Phil had missed his mark, for he quickly readjusted his aim to try again and this time found her lips. And he didn't pull back right away.

Looking back later on, Haley could have only described that kiss as being "short and sweet." When Phil broke away, she just stood there for a moment, grinning stupidly in the dark as a warm pleasant feeling spread through her entire body from the inside out. She would never have expected it from Phil, but that had actually been quite romantic.

His hand slid down her arm then, so that he was holding her hand. Haley waited, still not sure if all this was really happening, until she felt him give her hand a confirming squeeze. She happily tightened her own grip in return, her stomach fluttering, and together they slowly walked the remaining length of the tunnel, still hand in hand, though no more words passed between them.

When they finally reached the exit, Phil released her hand and let her get out first. Apparently, Viktor had heard them coming, for he had his gun drawn and ready when they came out, which gave Haley quite a start, but Phil only rolled his eyes.

"Easy, Viktor, it's just us."

"Oh. Well, where's everybody else? Ian said not to let anyone come out without him."

"There was…a small accident down there. Haley and I got separated from everyone else, and Ian told us to come back here to wait with you," Phil explained.

The Russian ruffian must have been satisfied with that answer, because he hardly paid any more attention to them. Meanwhile, Haley and Phil kept stealing secret smiles at each other, although they really didn't have to be too "secretive" about it since Viktor was essentially oblivious to the entire thing.

A surprisingly short time later, Ian, Shaw, and Powell all reemerged from the tunnel in the wall, announcing with firm conviction that it was time to leave. Neither Phil nor Viktor bothered to ask what had become of Gates and the others, and Haley was already well aware of their situation. She knew Tori and her companions would get out safely, and at the present moment, she didn't even think she would be able to fake shock or sorrow at her friends' supposed fate. She was just too happy.

Ian nodded an acknowledgment to her and Phil, saying, "Good. I see you two made it out alive."

"Yeah, they just got out a couple minutes ago," Viktor spoke up.

"A couple minutes ago?" Powell echoed with raised eyebrows. "But they left way ahead of us."

The Scotsman seemed to fit the rest of the pieces together himself then, for a very broad and very amused smile spread across his face, and neither Phil nor Haley could quite bear to look him in the eye. But there was no time for any additional teasing remarks before Ian shooed them all out of the church and into the cars.

Viktor drove the SUV, and Shaw, in his eagerness to be gone, claimed the driver's seat of the black sedan. Haley and Phil squeezed into the back seat with Powell, now strangely comfortable with the way their legs and shoulders brushed against each another. She hadn't even asked to drive this time around.

Seated on Haley's right, Powell caught her eye and winked. Haley grinned unashamedly but still couldn't hold back a blush. Who knew Powell could be so bloody observant?

* * *

It had taken Ben and Patrick a while to navigate their way back to the start of their journey from a different route, but Tori already knew they'd make it. It had still made her jump a bit, though, when Riley's treasured stairs had creaked dangerously under her feet. They climbed through a maze of dark tunnels and passageways and at length arrived back at where they had started.

Ben and Riley knocked out the wall of the sepulcher, and the older man was the first to stick his head back out into the world above ground.

"Um, hi," he said as casually as possible to the maintenance man who sat beside the bones of Parkington Lane, pointing a flashlight at his unexpected visitors. "Sorry, but do you have a cell phone I could borrow?"

The man nodded and shakily held out the small device.

Tori followed the others out and waved at him as they passed, impressed yet again that the poor guy had been such a good sport about the whole thing. If it'd been Haley waiting up here for them instead, Tori just knew her friend would have screamed bloody murder when they came out, thrown the flashlight at Ben's head, and run off wildly into the church, still screaming all the while.

After a couple of minutes, Ben handed the cell phone back to its owner and informed the rest of them, "Agent Sadusky's on his way. I told him we'd be waiting for him up in the sanctuary."

* * *

A very short time later, Tori sat between Patrick and Riley in a pew of Trinity Church's sanctuary while Ben spoke with Peter Sadusky up near the altar. She listened with half an ear as the two of them negotiated about who would get the credit for finding the treasure, etc, and was genuinely surprised when Ben included her, as well. She would most definitely have to thank him for that later!

"And what about you?" Sadusky was asking Ben when Tori tuned back into the conversation.

"Me? I would love not to go to prison. I can't even begin to describe how much I would love _not _to go to prison."

The head agent chuckled softly, appearing genuinely sorry as he said, "Someone's got to go to prison, Ben."

"Well," Ben replied thoughtfully, "if you've got a helicopter, I just might be able to help out with that."

Sensing that her time had come, Tori suddenly called out, "Don't arrest Haley!"

Sadusky turned to look at her and frowned. "Who?"

"My friend. She was, uh, kidnapped by them back when this all started. She's been with them the entire time, but she hasn't done anything wrong, I promise. Please don't arrest her!"

He visibly considered this, then asked Ben, "Is this true?"

"Yes, it is," the treasure hunter confirmed, and Abigail also nodded her support. Only Riley had nothing to contribute.

"Don't worry then, miss," Sadusky continued. "We'll make sure your friend gets out of there safe and sound. As a matter of fact, why don't you come with us. You, too, Mr. Gates."

Tori nodded her understanding but didn't get up to join them right away. There was still one more thing she had to take care of before they left.

She turned to the young man next to her and sighed. "Riley, why don't you trust Haley?"

"Because she's been working with Ian," the techie stated firmly. "Ian betrayed us, so I can't trust somebody who's on his side."

"But, Riley, you were there with us back on _The Charlotte_. You _saw _Shaw and Ian take her with them. But she didn't ask to go, now, did she?"

Riley scrunched up his nose a bit, then grudgingly conceded, "No."

"That's right. And she hasn't really been helping them either, as far as I can see. Ben told us she wasn't with Ian when he tried to steal the Declaration. She must have been left behind in the van that night, like you and I were. And she's no computer genius, so I can promise you she wasn't doing your job for him. I mean, I've probably helped you and Ben a whole lot more than she's helped Ian."

Her companion had no response for that, but Tori could tell her argument was convincing. "Come on, Riley. Haley's my friend, my adopted big sister, and I trust her completely! With my life even! But you're my friend, too, and I don't want you and Haley to be enemies. Please don't stick me in the middle here."

At long last, Riley sighed, defeated, and met Tori's imploring gaze. "All right, fine. If you trust her, then I suppose I have no reason not to. And, T, I would never want to make you choose between me and her! She's your good friend, I can tell. And I hope I can be friends with her someday, too."

"I'm sure you will be! And I'm sure it won't take that long, either. Thank you, Riley." In a mixture of sheer joy and relief, Tori abruptly reached out and embraced him, not caring at all that this was hardly the time or the place.

"Tori?"

The young brunette looked up as she pulled away from Riley and saw that Ben and Agent Sadusky were both standing and ready to go, no doubt waiting for her to accompany them.

"All right!" she called, getting to her feet. "I'm coming."

* * *

It was dark by the time they reached the Old North Church in Boston. Haley stood next to Phil, waiting anxiously while Powell cut through the lock on the gates. She chewed her bottom lip nervously, not sure how all of this would now play out, but hoping fervently that Tori had done something to change the outcome that now seemed more like a nightmare than a "happy ending."

Phil moved away from her to begin picking the lock on the church door, and at that moment, the FBI showed up. In the blink of an eye, there were lights, sirens, and shouting people everywhere; and Haley would have been lying through her teeth if she didn't admit to being more than a little afraid at this point.

Having always hated this part of the movie, she again watched in horror as Ian Howe and his associates were summarily taken none too gently into FBI custody. She suddenly felt very much alone and forgotten. That was, of course, until two FBI agents whom she didn't recognize appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and grabbed her arms.

Startled, Haley yelped loudly as they began pulling her away from the scene, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that even as he was being roughly thrown against one of the cars some distance away from her, Phil's head jerked upward at the sound of her frightened cry. They locked eyes after he'd sought her out amidst the crowd, and in that one horrible moment, Haley suddenly wished she'd never heard of _National Treasure_.

The FBI agents continued to lead her swiftly away, talking to her all the while and trying to tell her that everything was going to be all right, but Haley didn't even hear them. She kept looking back over her shoulder at Phil who was still staring after her, oblivious to the cops on all sides of him. His face was expressionless, but even from this far away, Haley could see the hurt and the longing in his dark eyes.

Something inside her throbbed painfully, a lump formed in her throat, and she could feel tears gathering in her eyes. The agents must have seen that she was upset, because they actually increased their efforts to comfort her. Unfortunately, most of their sayings consisted of something such as, "It's okay. Don't worry, you're safe now. You'll never have to see those men again."

It didn't exactly help, and now her tears started to fall in earnest.

"Halo!"

Haley whirled around at the unexpected sound of her nickname and beheld Tori running out of the shadows toward her. Ben Gates stood back behind her, watching impassively as Ian and the rest of his former colleagues were put away.

The FBI agents accompanying Haley dispersed to other duties when Tori drew near, and the two friends embraced each other.

"Halo, you're crying," Tori observed with worry when they had pulled back. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Oh no," Haley replied, sniffling and hurriedly trying to wipe away her tears. "No, I'm fine. But, Tori, what about you? You made it out, obviously, but what happened? Did everything go like normal once…once Phil and I left."

Tori nodded, smiling. "Yep! We found the treasure, and everything went fine. I almost gave it away, though, when I told Riley we'd get out okay. And _you_ – what were you thinking back there?! I know you and I have both always liked Shaw's character, and it is sad for Ian when he dies, but do you realize how close you came to blowing everything?"

"I know, I know. But no one was wiser in the end, right? Shaw survived, even though he's on his way to prison now, and everyone just thinks I have really good gut instincts. Besides, I couldn't let Shaw die after spending so much time with him. I mean, he may be a bit mean and incredibly scary most of the time, but he _did _kill a spider for me. What can I say? I owed him."

Tori laughed. "Oh, Halo, you're too funny! I'm so glad you're okay. I mean, look at us – we survived _National Treasure_! And not only that, we're rich! Ben's giving me a share of the finder's fee for the treasure – not as much as his own, but it's still a lot. Haley, are you even listening to me?"

Haley's attention had been drifting back to what was going on behind her, but she at once snapped her head back around to face her friend. "What? Yes, of course, I am, and that's great, it really is! I'm so happy for you, hon! And now, if we don't get sent back home, at least you won't have to worry about money."

"You mean _we _won't have to worry about it."

The older girl frowned. "We?"

"Absolutely! You didn't think I'd keep this all for myself, did you?" Tori gave her friend a playful nudge with her elbow. "I wasn't even expecting it, and if we don't get sent back, it's not like we have any sort of history here. It'd be kinda tough looking for a job without any valid ID, don't you think?"

Now it was Haley's turn to laugh as Tori went on, "You and I can live together and buy a nice house somewhere close to Ben, Abigail, and Riley – how's that sound?"

"It sounds great!" Haley hugged her friend again. "Thanks, Tori-kins. And thanks also for thinking of me back there with Sadusky."

"Oh, of course! Believe me, Halo, I spent one night in jail with Ben, and one was enough. I would never let you end up there if I could help it. Even Sadusky was really cool about the whole thing."

"Good. See, there really was a reason you've always liked him."

"Oh, and you're good with Riley now, too. He trusts you, at least somewhat. He may not be very friendly to you immediately, but at least it's a start."

Haley sighed, relieved. "Thank you. I had noticed he didn't seem to like me very much and was worried that might be a bit of a problem."

"Ladies?" Ben came striding up behind them, taking one of their arms in each hand. "Now that you're both safe and happily reunited, I think it's time we went home."

Tori nodded, the expression seeming strangely bitter-sweet. "Right – home."

The two girls followed Ben away from the bustling crime scene, but Haley looked back over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Phil, now securely inside the cop car. He was still watching her. The lump came back into her throat as the vehicle began to pull away in the opposite direction.

Haley watched them go, following the procession with her eyes until all she could see were the car's retreating taillights. She would never see him again.

**Halo's A/N:** Yikes, that was depressing! Tori, whatever happened to our happy ending?! This had to be the most difficult chapter to write by FAR! I like, practically cried writing that, lame as that sounds. But I suppose I can now officially call this my first real romance-ish fic. Hmm, 'tis a strange and challenging new world, to be sure, but I promise I'll do my best. Thanks for reading, everyone, and we'll see you at the Epilogue!

**Tori's A/N**: Poor Haley! I really am sorry about your ending, my dear! But all of that sister stuff I mention to Riley is feel, at least that's how close Haley and I actually are. So, again, I do feel sorry for Haley in this ending. It is weird to be writing a romance story, huh? But, we'll be moving on to the epilogue now, so we'll see you soon!


	13. Epilogue

**Summary:** Title says it all. Co-authored by **Torilei** and **HaloFin17**. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".

**Halo's A/N: **Well, my friends, we've made it to the Epilogue. Congratulations on surviving the movie along with us and making it this far! Our deepest thanks once again to **Dimonah Tralon, Thuraya Known, Miss Fenway, **and **TheBlueHour **for reviewing the last chapter and to everyone else who's stuck with us on this crazily fun literary adventure! Speaking of the last chapter, I think I'm getting over my depression now. Maybe. Sorta. I still miss Phil. (sniffles) But never mind about me, lol. Have fun in the Epilogue!!

**Tori's A/N:** Thank you so, so much for all of your reviews, guys! It was so much fun for us to write, and I hope it was just as fun for you to read! And I'm glad Halo is getting over her depression a little. That's a good thing. And, I personally like this Epilogue. Hopefully you all do too! Lol, enjoy!

**Epilogue**

_Three months later_

Haley and Tori walked along with Ben, Abigail, and Riley as they strolled leisurely across the grounds of the Gates' new family estate. Riley was relaying to them a message about how the Cairo Museum was sending a private jet to pick up Ben, Abi, and himself for the opening of their new exhibit containing artifacts discovered in the Templar Treasure.

"We could've had a whole fleet of private jets," the techie muttered, almost to himself. "Ten percent, Ben. They offered you ten percent."

The treasure hunter sighed. "Riley, we've been through this, it was too much! I couldn't accept it."

"Here, see this?" Riley thrust his hand under Ben's nose. "That's a splinter from a piece of rotten wood that's been festering in my finger for three months now."

"Okay, Riley, fine. The next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, _you _can make the call on the finder's fee."

"Great, thanks, I'll remember that. So why don't you two enjoy your new big house here, and I'll sit on my pathetic spoils of half of one percent."

Riley then leapt into his beloved new bright red Ferrari convertible and motioned for Tori to join him in the passenger's seat.

"Come on, T, get in! I'll take you for a ride in my new baby."

Tori was only too happy to oblige, no doubt forgetting in her ecstasy that Riley's driving abilities in a manual transmission vehicle were somewhat less than ideal. She pulled her hair back, ready to speed off into the sunset the way any good action movie should end, while Riley turned on Aerosmith's "Jaded," their shared favorite song, and cranked it up.

The actual departure was far from theatrical, though, and soon all of them, Tori included, were laughing hysterically at Riley's lamentable attempts to maneuver his new toy. But eventually, they were more or less on their way, with Tori turning around in the convertible to wave back at her friends, who happily returned the gesture.

"We'll see you guys later!" she called after them just before Riley turned off the long estate driveway and out of sight.

Haley watched them go, still chuckling to herself about the whole situation, and turned to Ben and Abigail.

"Ya know," she mused, "a few years down the road, I think those two will look fondly back at this memory as their first unwitting and unofficial date."

Abi smiled sweetly at the thought, having already suspected herself that the two friends might someday make a happy couple, but Ben looked skeptical.

"You really think so?" he pressed. "_Those _two?"

Haley beamed. "Absolutely! They're already practically perfect for each other! They have such similar interests, and goodness knows they've got identical senses of humor. I think God must have wired them the exact same way in that regard. I mean, you've seen them, Ben. They can already keep themselves entertained for hours with just the two of them talking and laughing together. Just give them some time for Tori to get a little older, and you'll see. Besides, stranger things have happened."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as, oh, I don't know…Ian and company escaping from prison. Would that be strange enough for ya?"

"Actually, I'd say that's quite conceivable," the treasure hunter replied.

"Really? And what do you think they'd do if they did get out?"

Ben laughed nervously. "Well, since we're the ones who got them arrested, I suppose they'd probably track us down from all the far corners of the earth."

Haley looked away as he answered, fighting back a small smile and a slight blush at the prospect of her companion's prediction coming to pass. Ben was altogether oblivious to her reaction; but Abigail, being an observant young lady herself, couldn't help but notice, and her curiosity was justifiably aroused.

But before the blonde lady could even start to press her young friend further on the subject, there suddenly came a shrill screeching sound succeeded by an ominous crunch. Silence followed, until even from where the three of them stood, they could distinctly make out Tori's appalled exclamation.

"Oh my gosh! Riley Poole, what did you DO?!"

**The End**

But **WAIT** – there's **MORE**!


	14. Trailer

**Authors' A/N: **Just a quick note here to say that the music for this trailer is the song "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses. Just think of the music "pausing" when the screen "goes black" and then coming back on when the live action resumes. Of course, start at the beginning with the awesome guitar part! Enjoy!

**Trailer**

_Shows an overhead shot of Washington D.C., then narrows to a large house, and finally to Haley and Tori standing inside_

**Haley**_ (__voiceover__): _"It's been two years, and we still haven't been sent back home. I guess we really are stuck in _National Treasure__."_

_Cuts to a shot of Tori looking thoughtful_

**Tori:** "Well, what about the second one? Do you think we'll be stuck in that, too?"

**Haley:** "I don't know…"

_Cuts to a black screen_

**For Haley and Tori, everything is going smoothly as they settle into their new lives…**

_Shows a shot of Tori studying in college and a shot of Haley reading on the couch_

_Quickly cuts to a shot of Ben, Riley, Haley, and Tori seated in a restaurant_

**Riley**_ (__smiling__): _"Come on, T, let's dance!"

_Shows a shot of Riley and Tori dancing together, but quickly cuts to a black screen_

**But soon, all good things must come to an end…**

_Shows a shot of Sadusky standing in a doorway_

**Sadusky**_: _"Ladies, I'm afraid I have some disturbing news. Ian Howe and his associates escaped from prison last night."

_Cuts to a shot of Tori in her pajamas, running down a dark hallway into Haley's room_

**Tori**_ (__terrified__): _"Haley, wake up! There's some guy outside my window!"

_Cuts to a shot of Tori and Haley looking out the window_

**Haley **_(grabbing onto Tori's arm)_: "Oh my gosh – Tori, it's him!"

_Cuts to a shot of Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Tori standing together_

**Tori **_(__panicked__):_ "Haley's missing!"

_Shows nighttime shot of Phil drawing out his gun from beneath his jacket_

_Ben's cell phone rings, and he brings it to his ear_

**Ben**: "Hello?"

_Cuts to a shot of Ben standing in an empty warehouse with Riley, Tori, and Abigail_

**Ben**: "Ian, I should have known."

**Ian**: "Gates? I hadn't expected this."

_Cuts to a shot of Mitch Wilkinson holding up the corner of a faded journal page_

**Mitch**: "Benjamin Gates, you know what's at stake. Happy hunting."

_Shows a sequence of shots:_

_Shaw throwing Ben roughly into the wall_

_An upset Tori shoving a shocked Shaw away from Ben_

_Haley and Tori laughing while throwing pillows at each other_

_Overhead shot of Buckingham Palace_

_Emily hugging Tori with a smile_

_Shot of empty compartment of Resolute Desk in the Oval Office_

**Riley** _(__voiceover__)_: "We need the Presidents' Secret Book."

_Ben and Sadusky walking together_

**Sadusky**: "The Book is real."

_Cuts sharply to a black screen_

**Ben** _(__voiceover__)_: "I'm gonna' kidnap the President of the United States."

_Shot of Riley in disbelief_

**Riley**: "What?"

_Cuts to Tori pacing anxiously in a parking lot while Riley tries to calm her down_

_Riley, Tori, and Abigail, looking anxiously behind them as they run out of the Library of Congress with Shaw and Powell following after _

_Mitch burning a faded letter_

**Haley** _(__voiceover__)_: "Wait! You can't do this!"

_Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Tori balancing precariously on the golden table_

_Ian and Shaw diving out of the way of collapsing rocks while Patrick pulls Emily away to safety with him_

_Ben sticking his hand in rocks and screaming in pain while Ian and Mitch stand behind him, but then he begins to laugh_

**Ben**: "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."

_Riley holding Tori against the rock wall to try to keep her head above the rushing water as he looks over his shoulder anxiously_

**Riley**: "Ben!"

_Ian smirking while Shaw points his gun at an unseen person_

_Riley and Tori, soaking wet, clinging tightly to each other with guns held by unseen people pointed at their heads_

**Ian** _(__voiceover__)_: "You shouldn't have underestimated me."

_Everyone running in the City of Gold while water forcefully rushes in_

**Tori **_(__voiceover__)_: "We've already cheated death once today. I don't want to die now!"

_Riley hugging Tori tightly_

**Riley**: "I've never been more scared in my life, but it wasn't for myself."

_Shaw shooting his gun in the rushing water_

_A group of people climbing over Mount Rushmore_

**Haley** _(in tears)_: "We were so close."

_Cuts to a shot of an angry Ben_

**Ben**: "Where are they?!"

**I Still Can't Believe We're Doing This**

**Tori**: "I trust you, Haley, but please be careful."

**Haley**: "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen. Nothing bad, anyway."

_**Coming soon to a fanfiction site near you!**_

**Halo's A/N: **Well, what do you guys think?? I can only hope you are sufficiently intrigued to come back for our slightly more serious but still purely for fun sequel. I know Tori and I sure had fun writing this trailer here, even though it was admittedly very weird using ourselves in some of the more "dramatic stuff" lol. So we'll see you all again soon, and thanks for sticking with us!

**Tori's A/N: **Omg, yeah! It was so weird writing us into the trailer thinking, 'wow, this is me!' Lol. But, we did have a lot of fun writing it. Another good thing is that we have most of it outlined, so hopefully we can update pretty frequently among our busy schedules. So, hope you had a blast, and see you guys next time!


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